PRESENT-DAY 
PRAYER- £TING 



HELPS 













NORMAN E.RICHARDSON 




Book rH S 

Copightl^? , 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



PRESENT-DAY 

PRAYER-MEETING 

HELPS 

FOR LAYMEN AND MINISTER 



By Alumni of 
Boston University School of Theology 

Edited by 
Norman E. Richardson 




NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS 
CINCINNATI : JENNINGS & GRAHAM 






Copyright, 1910, by 
EATON & MAINS 



(0)CIA268470 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction— A Word About the Prayer Service 7 

Francis J. McConnell. 

1. The Supreme Confidence 9 

Edwin H. Hughes. 

2. The Greatest Law in the World 12 

James W. Bashford. 

3. The Mission of the Winds 15 

Luther Ellsworth Lovejoy. 

4. The Life and the Task 17 

Lauress J. Birney. 

5. IndividuaHty in Religion. 20 

L. H. Dorchester. 

6. Giving What One Has 22 

Luther Freeman. 

7. Careful Culture Brings Sure Growth 25 

Christian F. Reisner. 

8. "Ye Have Need of Patience" , 27 

John A. Story. 

9. In Remembrance 30 

Henry N. Cameron. 

10. The Church in the Home — Family Religion 32 

C. R. Havighurst. 

11. The Waters of Marah and Elim 34 

Samuel Plantz. 

12. The Strange Experience of a Christian 37 

Francis L. Strickland. 

13. The Forgiving Spirit 39 

Edward Laird Mills. 
3 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

14. Prayer and Fruit-Bearing 41 

John R. Van Pelt, 

15. How to Bring the Hidden Life to Light 44 

Arthur D. Batchelor. 

16. Obeying the Vision 46 

C. R. Havighurst* 

17. The Deeper Blessing 49 

Edwin H. Hughes. 

18. Life's Broken Ships 52 

Louis A. Banks. 

19. On Doubt $4 

William W. Guth. 

20. Hedged In 56 

L. O. Hartman. 

21. The Cure of Worry 59 

William S. Mitchell. 

22. The Greatest Prayer in the World 61 

James W. Bashford. 

23. Christ's Comfort 64 

Samuel L. Beiler. 

24. Jesus the Door 66 

Hasse O. Enwall. 

25. The World the Field. 69 

Henry N. Cameron. 

26. In the Cool of the Day. 71 

Francis J. McConnell. 

27. Consecration 72 

Samuel Plantz. 

28. The Burning Heart and the Open Book 75 

R. H. Schuett. 

29. The Ideal Life 77 

John C. WilUts. 

30. Fellowship with God 80 

Luther Freeman. 

4 



CONTENTS 

PASS 

31. How David Escaped Fretfulness 82 

Samuel L. Beiler. 

32. Peter's Call and Commission 84 

Eugene M. Antrim. 

33. Self-Judgment under Gospel Grace 87 

John R. Van Pelt. 

34. Our Citizenship 89 

John C. WilHts. 

35. People that Cannot be Spared 92 

Christian F. Reisner. 

36. Paul's Letter to Philemon 94 

John A. Story. 

37. Grace According to Capacity 97 

R. H. Schuett. 

38. Does God Speak to Men To-day as He Did to the 

Men of Long Ago? 99 

Francis L. Strickland. 

39. The Leaven in the Meal 101 

Francis J. McConnell. 

40. God's Help in Temporal Anxieties 102 

William S. Mitchell. 

41. The Message of a First-Century Preacher 104 

Edward Laird Mills. 

42. The Pattern on the Mount 107 

Samuel Plantz. 

43. The Giants and the Grapes 109 

L. H. Dorchester. 

44. The Soul's Inventory Ill 

R. D. HoUington. 

45. On Discouragement 114 

Wilham W. Guth. 

46. The Practical Holy Ghost 117 

L. O. Hartman. 

47. Where Divine Footsteps Lead 120 

Luther Ellsworth Lovejoy. 
5 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

48. The Narrowness of Religion 122 

Lauress J. Birney. 

49. The Law of the Gospel of Christ. 124 

Arthur D. Batchelor. 

50. God Did the Pumping 127 

Charles ^ronson Allen. 

51. The Woman at the Well, 129 

Charles R. Brown. 

52. "I Wm Set in the Desert the Fir Tree" 131 

Hasse O. Enwall. 

53. Jesus Leads in Prayer 134 

Charles Bronson Allen. 

54. The Church of Sardis at Her Best 136 

Eugene M. Antrim. 



INTRODUCTION. 

A WORD ABOUT THE PRAYER SERVICE 

So far as I can see, the midweek service cannot 
to-day count on being supported by the ^^testimo- 
nies" of those who come. There was a time when 
the layman used the midweek service for the pur- 
pose of "testifying" to the world that he was upon 
the Lord's side. Such a time has passed by, for 
two reasons. First, we do not longer lay stress 
upon the spoken word as the chief form of testi- 
mony, strictly speaking. The life is the testimony. 
Second, the temper of the time has somewhat 
changed, so that men, and good men too, are 
averse to speaking in public of inner personal 
experiences. The old appeals to men to take part 
so that they may put themselves again on record 
have lost their force. Even the statement that 
this may be the last chance one shall ever have to 
speak for religion does not call forth large re- 
sponse. 

There is, however, a place, and a great place, for 
participation by the people in the midweek serv- 
ice. They will not respond as they once did to 
urgent appeals to take part, but they can be led to 
take part if a theme presented to them is in itself 
suggestive — if it lies so close to their daily ex- 
perience that they really have something to say 
about it, or if some phrase of the leader is pro- 
vocative of thought by its suggestiveness. 

I learned a lesson along this line once by at- 
tending a meeting of a sect with which I had no 

7 



INTRODUCTION 

great sympathy, but which was remarkable for 
the extent to which the laymen would take part 
whenever opportunity was given them. The meet- 
ing on this particular day was going in rather a 
dull and slow manner. The theme was "The En- 
trance to the Kingdom through Self-Sacrifice." 
Suddenly a man arose and said, "The theme means 
just this: we have to die to self to get into the 
kingdom. We come in 'by the death-route/^ The 
expression "death-route'' was rather jarring to me, 
but evidently not so to the people. It seemed to 
be suggestive to the great number, and a great 
number took part, each giving a twist to the sug- 
gestive word which had spoken the service into 
new life. In one way I did not enjoy the service. 
As I have said, the worshipers belonged to a very 
narrow sect with a very crude theology; and much 
that was said in this service was crude; but the 
lesson was valuable. That lesson was this : there 
are some puttings of themes that seem to start 
talk by themselves; and these are preeminently 
fitted for the prayer service as that service is now 
observed. 

The layman needs the midweek service. He 
needs the development which comes with the ut- 
terance of thought. And the church needs the con- 
tribution which the layman's putting of the truth 
makes. Often the profoundest insight for the 
preacher and the worshipers comes from the fresh 
putting of a truth by a layman whose daily ex- 
perience perhaps helps him to coin a term or 
phrase, or to give a new push of emphasis to a 
word — utterances which are like the opening of a 
window toward the east 

9 



PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING 

HELPS 



1. THE SUPREME CONFIDENCE 

Scripture : Rom. 8. 28. "And we know that all 
things work together for good to them that love 
God/' 

These words are usually taken as an uncon- 
ditioned promise. There is no "if" in the verse. 
It is so easy to read the words as if they con- 
tained nothing tentative, as if they expressed a 
supreme confidence unaffected by any supreme 
conditions. One needs only to lay stress upon the 
"know'' and the "all things" and the "work" and 
the "good," and so to make the first part of the 
verse hide the second part ; and the impression is 
at once given that the words tell of what God does 
without reference to what man does. But if we 
search the words we shall discover some deep con- 
ditions tucked away in this sweeping assurance. 
Every assuring word in this oft-quoted promise is 
accompanied by some spiritual modification. 

"We know." Who are the "we"? Evidently 
those who have gotten the standpoint and assur- 
ance of faith! The returns of life are not all in 
yet; it may be that hundreds of years will pass 
ere the great effects can be truly registered. The 
knowledge, then, is the knowledge of faith. The 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

man who does not have faith will laugh at the 
promise as being wild and fanatical. But "we'' 
know. "We'' have already had enough experience 
to give us confidence. Seeing things from the 
spiritual angle, "we" review past things and find 
a hopeful verdict about them. A while ago a 
magazine writer gave us the following bit of wis- 
dom, tested by such a review of life : 

"If aU the losses of the years. 

The things which you have missed so long. 
And mourned with unavailing tears. 

Came trooping back with dance and song. 
And stood expectant at your door. 

Say, would you take them back once more?" 

Try Christian people, thorough-going Christian 
people, with this test. See how many of them will 
be quick to say that the spiritual interpretation of 
life's experiences brings an ever-clearer knowledge 
that these experiences have been working for good. 
Indeed, many of our losses have insisted on cross- 
ing the ledger and claiming a place among the 
credits of life. The man of faith sees thus with 
growing plainness. Yet it is only the "we" who 
really "know." 

The confidence is that "all things work together 
for good." Judged in their separateness they are 
not good. Fragmentary experiences puzzle us 
greatly. The cog seems a dead weight, and even 
worse than a dead weight, until you discover how 
it fits into the whole machinery. Or, to change the 
figure, the building materials are unseemly and in 
the way until they find their place in the whole 
structure. The sand obstructs the road, the lime 
smarts the eyes, the stones and bricks lie in untidy 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

heaps, the boards and beams are cluttering piles, 
until all the materials are ^Vorked together.'^ 
Separately each part is a nuisance; cooperatively 
each part is a benefit. Fragmentarily they work 
damage ; together they work good. 

What kind of "good"? The Christian who is 
affected with materialism, and who is still under 
the limited view of the Old Testament's idea of the 
relation of goodness to material prosperity, wants 
to construe the word as meaning bodily good. But 
the man who wrote the words knew something 
about a thorn in the flesh which wrought no 
bodily good and which, for all that, wrought real 
good. Many of God's children are sick ; many are 
poor; and many have failed of most of the ap- 
parent goods of life. The Best Person that ever 
lived said, "The foxes have holes, the birds of the 
air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where 
to lay his head.'' He died on a cross at an early 
age. Estimated by the usual standards of "good," 
he failed terribly. This text and context do not 
deny Christ. They speak of spiritual good. Their 
claim is that all things, coming into the rightly 
conditioned life, carry that life on to inner pros- 
perity. 

And what is the right condition? It is stated 
definitely: "All things work together for good to 
them that love God." This is a reversal of the 
usual thought. We would say that things were 
apt to work together for good to them that the 
king or the president loved! But here we find 
the condition located squarely in men's hearts! 
Only those who love God truly and deeply have 
any right to claim this promise. The words leave 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

the idea that the conditions on God's side are all 
met; it asserts that the only remaining condition 
must be met in the very heart of our lives. Do we 
fulfill this condition? Do we love God? Do we 
love to love God ? Is our spiritual state such that 
when the ^^all things'' reach us they must work 
together in an atmosphere of love? After all, the 
condition is the most serious that could be fixed. 
The murmuring man does not see that his very 
murmuring breaks the express condition. The 
man who loves God is kept from sin. Therefore, 
the "all things" that reach him do not come from 
his own wrong volition. Consequently, they are 
either of God's appointing or permitting. They 
are the agents of the loving God sent to do service 
for the loving man. Blessed is he who has this 
assurance and who has joined those who can say, 
"We know that all things work together for good 
to them that love God." 



2. THE GREATEST LAW IN THE WORLD 

Scripture : Matt. 22. 34-40 ; John 13. 34. 

The supreme command of Christ is the law of 
love. He is the author of nature. All things were 
made through him. Hence we ought to find some 
hints of the law of love in nature. 

1. The vegetable kingdom obeys the law of self- 
regard; but self-regard in itself is a preparation 
for the law of love. Jesus implies self-regard in 
the second command; and utters that half com- 
mand, half promise, "Ye therefore shall be perfect, 
as your heavenly Father is perfect." Hence, self 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

preservation and self-perfection are parts of the 
divine order. 

But self-preservation is not the deepest law in 
the vegetable kingdom. That law is the law of 
seed and fruit-bearing found in the first chapter of 
Genesis: "Herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees 
bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed 
thereof.'' This is the fundamental law of the vege- 
table kingdom, the law by which the species is 
preserved and extended. Sometimes the tree bears 
so much fruit and seeds for others that it has not 
sap enough left to carry it through the winter, and 
it is winter-killed. What is this but a hint of Cal- 
vary in the vegetable kingdom? 

2. The deepest law of the animal kingdom — the 
law by which alone each species is preserved and 
protected — is not the law of savagery, but the law 
of motherhood; the law by which the mother 
brings forth young with pain to herself, nourishes 
them with her own substance, and protects them 
at cost of her life. Here in the animal kingdom 
also are the finger-marks of Him through whom 
all things were made. 

3. The evolutionary struggle is more largely be- 
tween species than between individuals of the 
same species. Pasteur recognizes this law, and 
our latest method of combating disease rests upon 
destruction of disease germs by germs of a 
stronger but harmless species. But in all this 
struggle between species from germ to man, that 
species or race triumphs in exact proportion to 
the willingness of individuals to sacrifice them- 
selves for the good of the species. This principle 
finds ample illustration in Kropotkin's "Mutual 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Aid a Factor in Evolution/' in Drummond's ^^As- 
cent of Man/' in Kidd's ^^Social Evolution"; and 
Kidd's authority is vouched for by his selection 
to succeed Huxley on the Britannica* 

So important is this law of love that God has 
ordained the family by which he calls us out of in- 
dividualism into the larger service of the house- 
hold. Above the family altar is the national 
altar, and the nation is the divine organism by 
which God calls us out of the narrower love of the 
clan into the larger service of the state. Above 
the family altar and the national altar is the altar 
of the church, on which God calls us to offer our 
lives for the salvation of the race. Missions rise 
above the local church interests because they sum- 
mon us to the highest and broadest service. Surely 
in nature and in human institutions are the finger- 
prints of Him ^^through whom all things were 
made.'' 

Love is wisdom. The martyr is the philosopher. 
Only as we forego all personal and temporal aims 
do we rise into the region of the universal and the 
eternal. Light, the most beautiful of all gifts, 
never shows itself, but only the object it falls 
upon. Love is the greatest law in the universe. 

Sidney Lanier, with rare insight into the heart 
of nature and the heart of Christ, thus sings : 

**Into the woods my Master went, 
Clean forspent, forspent; 
Into the woods my Master came. 
Forspent with love and shame. 
But the olives they were not blind to him. 
The little gray leaves were kind to him. 
The thorn-tree had a mind to him. 
When into the woods he came. 
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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

**Out of the woods my Master went. 
And he was well content; 
Out of the woods my Master came. 
Content with death and shame. 
When death and shame would woo him last. 
From under the trees they drew him last, 
'Twas on a tree they slew him last, 
When out of the woods he came." 



3. THE MISSION OF THE WINDS 

Scripture: Heb. 12; Song of Sol. 4. 16. 

"Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; 
Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow 

out. 
Let my beloved come into his garden. 
And eat his precious fruits." 

This verse tells the story of the Shulammite 
maiden's passionate call to the winds so to sweep 
over her garden as to stimulate its full fragrance, 
fruitfulness, and bloom that her lover may be 
pleased. It suggests more — a yearning that 
heaven may so beautify her person and character 
that she may be fully worthy of his love. In the 
Christian heart it awakens something deeper still 
— a holy aspiration that God's grace may so en- 
rich and glorify the life that it may be suitable for 
the divine fellowship, the soul's garden becoming 
his delighted abode. 

This impassioned prayer holds an intimation of 
the blessedness of all God's providences. "North 
wind,'^ "south wind," summer sun, winter's cold, 
sorrow, rejoicing, all are powerful to fructify our 
lives. How wondrously has God employed adver- 
sity! The blast of December sets more firm the 

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?RESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

taproot of the oak. Kentucky backwoods poverty 
invigorated Lincoln for a nation's crisis. The 
anguish of a trampled love brought tenderness un- 
measured to the voice of Jenny Lind. The fra- 
grance of the crushed health of Bella Cook flowed 
out for years to bless a whole metropolis. More 
than once has the calloused heart of man been 
turned by disaster from the world to God. 
^^Awake, O north wind.'' 

But God employs prosperity. The oak needs the 
blast, yet more the blazing sun. Surroundings of 
culture, learning, wealth impart to a life a rich- 
ness not otherwise attainable. Family and for- 
tune have as truly equipped a Roosevelt as poverty 
a Lincoln. Phillips Brooks is inconceivable with- 
out the blood of two great families, the culture of 
Boston, and the religious admixture of Puritan, 
Churchman, Evangelical, and Liberal. But for 
riches and refinement we had not known Helen 
Gould. Paul absorbs from Gamaliel, Peter from 
Gennesaret, God planned Wesley as truly as As- 
bury. "Come, thou south wind." 

Good and evil come to every life. The essential 
question is, How shall we receive? We may re- 
ceive insensibly, not realizing our opportunity — 
like the poor man who stupidly endures poverty, 
senseless to its stimulus, or many rich, who merely 
gorge, luxuriate, and die; or, perversely, the un- 
fortunate to curse and murmur, the fortunate to 
grow proud, voluptuous, brutal. 

We may receive resignedly, saying, "This pov- 
erty is crushing, but I may not murmur ; this pain 
is terrible, but I must endure; may the end soon 
come!" or, divinely, like Jesus welcoming the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

croKSS, cooperating with. God, rushing to meet his 
providence; or, like the Wright Brothers, exulting 
in the rebelliousness of the winds, in the stubborn- 
ness of material, eagerly making all a stimulus to 
the triumph of flying. So may we clutch at dis- 
ease, poverty, health, success, that thus we may 
cooperate with God in the perfecting of our char- 
acter. 

The result of such discipline — a fragrant and 
fruitful life. Strong, fibrous character comes 
from the chill of the north wind and the genial 
comfort of the south. How the life of purity 
sweetens all its region! "As ointment poured 
forth." Like "spices" of the lily, rose, honey- 
suckle, "flowing out." How character enriches 
society, increasing the sum total of the world^s 
wealth, a priceless asset of the kingdom in an age 
of sin, materialism, apostasy ! 

"Let my beloved come into his garden." The 
great end of the gardened life is to gladden the 
heart of the souFs Bridegroom. Is such reason 
insufficient? Why Westminster Abbey, the Pitti 
Palace, "The Angelus," "II Trovatore," the birds, 
sky, sea? To gladden human hearts. But the 
heart of the Infinite is gladdened by perfected 
souls. 

4. THE LIFE AND THE TASK 

Scripture : Rom. 12. 11 ; 12. 6-8 ; 12. 1, 2. 

When one begins to emerge from the lovely but 
limited valley of childhood there are two moun- 
tain peaks that appear against the sky, if the heart 
is pure and the vision clear. To scale those sum- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

mits becomes the passion of life. One is the Task 
— the^fachievement of brain or hand of which youth 
dreams ; the work to be done. It is a sacred mo- 
ment when that summit is first seen in the dis- 
tance and the soul girds itself to climb. The other 
is the Life — the achievement of the heart; the 
snow-white summit of character; what one is to 
be. Vital as the Task may be, this is the summit 
supreme. If one's footsteps are never found in its 
crystal snows, then life is a failure no matter what 
other summits are scaled. 

Our study is the relation of each of these to the 
other, in the well-balanced life. 

At first they seem quite distinct, unrelated, sep- 
arate ; possible to bend all energies to one, achieve 
high success in it, ignoring the other. One can be 
a success in business regardless of his life, or one 
can live a great life regardless of his task. Busi- 
ness has little business with character, and char- 
acter has no business with business. The two lie 
in different worlds. And this has been thought, 
consciously or unconsciously, by many who had 
no intention of sacrificing character to task. It is 
in its origin simply an immature, childish, super- 
ficial thought of life. But it is the open way to 
the destruction of all that is worth while in life. 
It is the origin of the specious motto, "Business 
is business.'^ It is vastly more than business. It 
made it possible for a Chicago politician to say 
recently to his pastor, who was toiling for reform, 
"I will see that the church needs no money, if you 
will preach only the gospel." It led an architect 
to plan great buildings that will stand for genera- 
tions, while his own life was rotting down into 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

nameless corruption. It helped Burns to sing like 
a seraph and live like a pagan. 

A deeper thought shows both summits to be one 
at their base. One's work is ever exerting an in- 
fluence upon one's character. One's character is 
always fixing the quality of one's work. God's 
greatest school for educating life is the world's 
work. Each belongs to the other. 

But still nearer approach reveals the final truth 
that one is but a foothill of the other. The task 
exists for the life, never the life for the task. The 
work of life is a means; there is but one end — life. 
No achievement of any life, howsoever conspicuous 
and perfect, means anything when it stands alone. 
Its value and vindication are found only in its 
contribution to life. Works vanish. Workers are 
eternal. Not a living, but a life, is the end of 
creation. Not an income, but an outcome, is the 
purpose of all toil. 

He who sees the final relation of his life and his 
work is made free indeed. 

1. Drudgery is no longer possible. He can go 
back to his task no matter what it is, take it up 
with love and honor for it in his heart. It is 
helping him in the supreme task, the making of 
character. 

2. It sets him free from the odiousi distinction of 
humble and noble tasks. No task is ignoble that 
makes a noble life. No task is exalted that creates 
a mean spirit. A hod-carrier can do his work in a 
way that will make a finer life than a statesman 
who works with lower motive. 

3. It makes him independent of his task. If 
business demands ever conflict with the demands 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

of life, business must surrender and not life, and 
in that surrender there is no remorse. 

4. It delivers him from the bondage of the 
world's definition of failure and success. There is 
no real failure and there is no success except of 
the life. 



5. INDIVIDUALITY IN RELIGION 

Scripture: 1 Cor. 12. 

It is a trite saying that there are no two per- 
sons just alike. Individuality of temperament, 
endowment, and education makes the individu- 
ality in religion natural and even necessary. We 
show individuality in sin; making uniformity in 
conversion and in other religious experiences is 
absolutely impossible. The Christian cause has 
sometimes suffered from expecting, if not insisting 
upon, certain uniformities. To some the Master 
said, "Follow me." Others followed him because 
they were drawn toward him. Zacchaeus had to 
be called down from a tree and make amends for 
business extortion. Nicodemus was told he "must 
be born again" to enter the kingdom. But what 
did the Saviour of sinners say to Nathanael? "Be- 
hold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" 
All these persons needed to follow the Saviour, and 
all received incalculable benefits, but the Master 
dealt with each of them as individuals. 

In writing to the Corinthian Christians Paul de- 
scribed some as apostles, some as teachers, some 
evangelists, gifts of healing, helps, governments, 
diversities of tongues. He expressly said that all 
were not alike, and hence were not to do the same 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

work, though all were to obey the same Spirit, all 
to be Christian lights, all to be living epistles, and 
all to forward the same good cause. Christianity 
does not destroy individuality, but develops and 
uses it. There is no more sameness in grace than 
in sin, in services than in endowments. 

God's many messages to man have been sent 
through different individuals, with varying styles 
and capacities. Truths that now sway the world 
were first proclaimed by individual lips. Vast re- 
forms originated in individual souls. Look at 
some examples. Paul was an instructive and 
missionary letter. James was a practical letter. 
John was a love letter. Peter was a preaching 
and exhorting letter. I^uther was an arousing and 
reforming letter. John Wesley was a revival 
letter. Moody was an evangelistic letter. Clara 
Barton was a Good Samaritan letter. Others are 
Dorcas letters, deaconess letters, settlement let- 
ters, Sunday school letters, Y. M. C. A. letters, 
charity letters, and mission letters. 

If a Whittier were forced to be a Wesley, or a 
Dwight L. Moody forced to be an Edward Everett 
Hale, or a Lyman Abbott to be a General Booth, 
our total consciousness of the divine and the total 
work of Christ would suffer. It is well said, 
*'The Divine can mean no single quality; it must 
mean a group of qualities, by being champions of 
which in alternation different men may all find 
worthy missions." 

We are to be tolerant of one another when as 
Christians we work differently, provided we really 
work for Christ. We ask no tolerance for laziness, 
mulishness, stinginess, perpetual excuse-making 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

and fault-finding; but we do plead for sanctified 
individuality. Each soul is intended to be a letter 
of some special import for Christ; all are called 
to be living epistles of something for Him who has 
redeemed us. Christ's kingdom needs all varieties 
of Christian character and service. 

In recognizing individual temperaments we put 
no premium on mere oddity and one-sidedness in 
religion, on playing the crank, or attending to cer- 
tain agreeable kinds of Christian work and excus- 
ing one's self from all other kinds. A true soul 
will be ambitious to become a well-balanced, full- 
orbed Christian, emulating Christ, our living head 
in all things. 

But, above all else, every man and woman 
should realize that religion is an individual 
matter, the life of God in one's own soul. Each 
person should feel, ^^I must be right with God. 
I must be saved from my sins. I need the Saviour. 
I must follow Christ. I have a place to fill and a 
work to do. No one is like me, and nobody can do 
my work." 



6. GIVING WHAT ONE HAS 

Scripture: Acts 3. 1-6. 

Peter and John stir our sympathy almost as 
much as does the cripple. It is distressing to see 
genuine need when one is powerless to help. Be- 
cause they were poor they must see the suffering 
and give no relief. Increased sympathy means 
increased pain when deprived of an opportunity 
to serve. 

Suddenly Peter remembers experiences with the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Master. His heart leaps with hope. "In the name 
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." From the 
ordinary human standpoint they seemed to be 
without resources. But they were disciples of 
Jesus. The secrets of his service they knew. 

I. What men ask for is not always what they 
most need. Men cry for money, ease, shorter 
hours of labor, pleasure, long life, etc. Any of 
these may be a blessing, but they are not neces- 
sary. Any one of them may be harmful. 

Seeing the man's deepest need, Peter responds. 
Instead of a shilling the man gets power to stand. 
Instead of poor men he finds the Christ of God. 
In his misery the beggar thought he needed money 
more than anything else. He had given up the 
hope of ever having the power to be a producer. 
He was no longer aware of his greatest need. 

II. "Such as I have" is what men really need 
most. We can give men — 

1. Wisdom. It is better to teach a man to earn 
for himself than to feed him in helplessness. 
Rather reveal a principle to guide one for all time 
than to offer a transitory suggestion. The gospel 
is wisdom. 

2. A worthy purpose in life. An ideal big 
enough for an immortal man. 

3. Sympathy. Men are dying for this, on every 
hand. It is easy to see how others can help, with 
money, genius, learning, eloquence, science, and 
think — ^^If I only had that power !" All the time 
it is "such as I have" that the world starves for. 
You will do much more by honestly using what 
you have than by dreaming of what you would do 
if you had something else. How glad I am that 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Peter had no money ! If he could have given the 
poor fellow a coin the man would have been a de- 
pendent, hopeless, joyless beggar to the end of 
his days. 

III. We are not to wait for men to ask for the 
best things before giving. By kindly compulsion 
the ignorant must be educated, the vicious re- 
formed, the indifferent awakened, the reckless 
controlled. Our understanding of men's need, 
rather than asking, must determine our giving. 

IV. No gift is our best unless it includes self. 
^^The gift without the giver is bare.'' The richest 
gifts that have ever come to us have been the 
contributions of some noble personalities. Who 
has enriched us most? Some one who has given 
us money, or, parents, teachers, friends, who have 
given themselves? He who does not give what he 
has would not give anything else even if he had it. 

V. Giving what one has ! How wonderfully has 
this principle become the secret of true greatness ! 
Moses gave leadership without eloquence ; Frances 
Willard, a fresh young heart; Jacob Sleeper, his 
money ; William Butler, his genius for organizing ; 
William Taylor, his power as an evangelist; the 
Gary sisters, their power in song; Francis Mur- 
phy, his experience as an inebriate; Milton, his 
power to write, and Grant, his power to fight ; the 
widow, her handful of meal and cruse of oil; 
Esther, her beauty and persuasive powers; the 
lad, his loaves and fishes. Each gave generously 
what he had. 

Each one of these might have excused himself 
by complaining that he did not possess some par- 
ticular power. Each made himself conspicuously 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

serviceable to the world by saying, "Such, as I 
have I give.'^ 

Suggestion: Have some one give an outline of 
Lowell's "Vision of Sir Launfal." 



7. CAREFUL CULTURE BRINGS SURE 
GROWTH 

Scripture : Psa. 1. 

Keep tlie Weed Seed Out. All grades of sin- 
ners are about us. They infect us if allowed too 
near. My father once tried to buy a farm because 
it was so full of cockleburs that he could not keep 
his own clean. The "ungodly," or carelessly 
neglectful, come to us first. They are willing to 
walk our way, but fail not to bring in discourage- 
ments, chill our ardor, and sow doubt. If success- 
ful, they will turn us over to the "sinners," those 
who are actively in the business. They will get us 
to stand near a saloon and argue about the fanati- 
cism of total abstinence. We must move back into 
our own territory. If we follow them to see how 
harmless sin is, we will soon be turned over to the 
last crowd, "the scornful." The brainy infidel, 
the astute juggler of truth, will speak to the "as- 
sembly" ("seat") of scorners, while we sit and 
wonder if religion is not poorly founded and 
Christian ethics but a foolish hindrance to pleas- 
ure. 

Nurture the Soil. People cannot endure re- 
ligion. They must find "delight" to continue 
honest and steadfast. The "law" is God's rules, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

which, if followed, promise to so direct one that 
size and success will come. Go to the Book as the 
health lover does to reliable physical instructions. 
^^Meditate'' — say the words over to yourself, as a 
student does something he wants to fully fathom. 
^^Day and night," any time you need, or have 
leisure to ponder, bring them up freshly. Make 
the Bible news from God, and the heart will be 
mellowed by interest and delight. 

Growth Assured. The thriving tree spoke of 
water and food. Every root found moisture. 
There was plenty for ail trees. The surroundings 
are also delightful. The green grass was there. 
The leaf does not wither. We are to worship in 
the beauty of holiness. The ^^fruif' comes forth 
^4n his season," *Vhen food is needed" (Briggs) 
either for self or for others. Ritual or testimony 
may express, but does not create, goodness. All 
his (the believer's) doings feed growth — "whatso- 
ever he doeth shall prosper." Night brings the 
dew, and clouds furnish the rainfall, making it 
possible for the sun to add its color to the fruit. 
Sorrow and joy are twin servants to the disciple. 

Worthless Products. The chafif is only good for 
fuel. God wastes nothing valuable. All the grain 
will be garnered. If there is good fruit on some 
heathen tree it will not be burned. Useless things 
are hindrances. The non-employer of the talent 
was cast out with the wicked. The "ungodly" 
cannot stand the examination (the judgment) , the 
test, whether at death or later, and so there is no 
place in God's new Eden, "the congregation of the 
righteous," for them. Temptation carries them 
away as wind does chaflf. This process is regular, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

too. Men, by thought and practice, make them- 
selves worthless. 

Satisfying Returns. The word translated 
^^Blessed" in verse 1, says Dr. Briggs, is never 
put in God's mouth. It is man's word. It is the 
spontaneous expression of the onlooker. Every 
honest observer will promptly declare that the 
earnest Christian is in the happiest state. Even 
the infidel insists that if he could believe as we do 
he would be ^^the happiest man alive." We realize 
this happiness now. Nothing can check or harm 
us. God is over all as the sun is over the field at 
full daylight. 

8. ''YB HAVE NEED OF PATIENCE'^ 

Scripture: James 5. 7-11; Luke 21. 19; Rom. 
5. 3, 4 ; Heb, 12. 3, 4 ; 2 Tim. 2. 24. 

No growth of good fortune puts us beyond the 
need of patience. A very successful pastor once 
said, '^In order to get along at all, I find that I 
have need of patience, patience, patience, and then 
more patience.'^ 

One New Testament word for patience tells of 
the temper by which we will not be moved when 
opposed or threatened ; another tells of the temper 
which will not strike back when we are struck, 
nor hate when we are hated. We are tried by 
circumstances and tried by people ; which kind of 
patience is the hardest to get and keep? 

Whatever the occasion which tests us, we com- 
monly think of patience as something passive, a 
meek, apologizing state of mind, which cannot be 
a power in the world ; on the contrary, patience is 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

something positive; it is self-mastery, it is reserve 
power which keeps on the throne in spite of op- 
position from things or persons. Who is the 
mighty ruler? (See Prov. 16. 32.) How calmly 
Jesus kept on at his work while little fussy kings 
and priests stormed at him with their charges of 
sedition and blasphemy! 

Every true believer desires to teach unbelievers 
the true faith. In home or heathen lands patience 
is a prime qualification for teaching (2 Tim, 2. 
24). Teachers who have little patience cannot 
help us much. (Think of some of the most suc- 
cessful teachers you have known.) The little 
school which followed Jesus for three years had 
some slow pupils in it. We can specify items of 
spiritual education which we have been very slow 
to learn, but Jesus has been patient with us. Edu- 
cators seek to plan for bright and dull pupils; 
Jesus and Paul prescribe a heart full of love as the 
best preparation for making our knowledge eflfec- 
tive. 

We need patience that we may not undo the 
good work that we have done. We may think that 
*^the past at least is secure/' but it is not secure 
unless we continue patiently in welldoing (James 
5. 7). The seed in the ground cannot spring forth 
into ripe fruit at the "touch of a button." Nor 
can ripe character come in that way. We all know 
that the "time element'' is a large factor in every 
great work of worth, and it must be in the build- 
ing of character. If the fifty-eight pieces of the 
violin need a century to get acquainted with each 
other so that they can sing in harmony, surely the 
many and fine powers of the soul need time to 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

knit together and grow into working order. We 
may turn to God in a moment, but our full stature 
in Christ can come only after many a test of pa- 
tience (James 1. 3, 4). 

Christian patience is not one of a list of virtues 
to be stuck on just anywhere; it has a working 
place among the other Christian graces. It is a 
link in a chain ; if defective it endangers all other 
good qualities, if strong it makes all others effec- 
tive. It extracts blessings out of tribulations, and 
begets a home-feeling with God out of which 
springs buoyant hope (Rom. 5. 3). Patience mul- 
tiplies the power of every natural talent; it is 
divine self-possession which makes us equal to all 
that the days bring to us. Jesus helped the dis- 
ciples to face the woes about to come upon them 
by saying to them, *^In your patience ye shall win 
your souls." In reality, if we look at Christ's vic- 
tories we will see that patience is not merely a 
condition of success, patience is success. By stead- 
fastness and long suffering the great life of the 
soul is won which is fitness for fellowship with 
God. ^^Consider him that hath endured'' (Heb. 
12. 3). ^^When he was reviled, reviled not again" 
(1 Pet. 2. 23). As spiritual athletes we should 
endure all things, seeing that the trial is success 
and life. When we share Christ's sufferings in his 
spirit we are building the life which will share 
his glory. 

The experiences of inventors, discoverers, skilled 
workmen in any line who have fought their way 
through opposition are but hints of our spiritual 
victories through patience. It is one of God's 
laws of the soul. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

9. IN REMEMBRANCE 

(a prayer service preceding communion) 

Scripture: Luke 22. 7-20. 

The desire to be remembered is practically uni- 
versal. How expressive of this desire are chiseled 
marble, builded column, and sculptured monu- 
ment! Egypt's gigantic pyramids proclaim, ^'To 
the Pharos^ — In memoriam!" Rome's triumphal 
arches tell that Titus and Constantine were anx- 
ious to live in memory. The obelisk is but the 
husky voice of centuries declaring that the 
Pharaohs dreaded oblivion. The mysterious 
mounds of the Ohio Valley speak in sepulchral 
tones and in strange speech, but we can clearly 
distinguish one word, "Remember." All through 
the ages this is the message of cairn and column, 
of pyramid and pillar, of mausoleum and mound. 

This too is the message, more beautifully ex- 
pressed, of many a modern pile. Far nobler are 
memorial homes, memorial hospitals, memorial 
schools and churches than towering monuments 
and costly tombs. But whatever the form of its 
expression the desire is always the same — to be 
remembered. 

We need not be surprised, then, that Jesus 
wanted to be remembered. True, he reared no 
lofty columns, no imposing pyramids, no stately 
arches, but he established a memorial which shall 
outlast those of marble and bronze when he said, 
"This do in remembrance of me.'' 

Truly a unique memorial. The sacrament we 
call "The Lord's Supper." How simple, how beau- 
tiful, how widely different from the means ordi- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

narily adopted to perpetuate memory, and yet how 
effective ! 

Where lies the explanation of the effectiveness 
of this memorial ? Is it not suggestive that doing 
is involved in the observance of the sacrament? 
'This do in remembrance of me.'' The very depths 
of the soul are stirred. The souFs activities are 
enlisted in its celebration. 

Suggestive too is it that these activities are not 
aimless. "This do in remembrance of me." The 
symbols of the broken body and the shed blood — 
symbols most significant to the Christian heart — 
are to be partaken of. 

Most suggestive, however, as to the effectiveness 
of this memorial is the personality behind it. 
^This do in remembrance of mej^ 

Except from an historical interest Egyptian 
pyramids, Roman arches, and Alexandrian obe- 
lisks do not specially appeal to us. They point 
simply to misty personages of shadowy centuries. 
How mute are they as compared with that little 
remembrancer, the tiny shoe, the little dress, the 
trinket which recalls the little one whose merry 
prattle once made the home ring with gladness ! 

After all, it is the personality back of any me- 
morial that gives it meaning. Eugene Field knew 
this well when he sang : 

"The little toy dog is covered with dust, 

But sturdy and stanch he stands; 
The little toy soldier is red with rust. 
And his musket molds in his hands. 
Time was when the little toy dog was new. 

And the soldier was passing fair, 
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue 
Kissed them and put them there. 
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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELP^ 

** 'Now don't you go till I come/ he said, 

'And don't you make any noise/ 
So toddling off to his trundle bed 

He dreamt of his pretty toys. 
And as he was dreaming, an angel song 

Awakened our Little Boy Blue. 
O, the years are many, the years are long. 

But the little toy friends are true." 

The memorial of Christ is precious to the be- 
liever because back of the beautiful sacrament 
there is the matchless personality of Him who 

"While yet his anguished soul surveyed 
Those pangs he would not flee, 
What love his latest words displayed — 
*Meet and remember me!* " 

As again we meet ^^in remembrance of him" ap- 
propriate the purposeful prayer: 

•*Remember thee! thy death, thy shame 

Our sinful hearts to share! 
O memory, leave no other name 
But his recorded there! ** 



10. THE CHURCH IN THE HOME— FAMILY 
RELIGION 

Scripture: Deut. 11. 18-21; Eph. 6. 4; Philem. 2. 

The family is the fundamental unit of all social 
organization. The status of the family determines 
the status of the whole social system. Hence the 
problem of the family is the most important of 
all problems, the one supreme strategic point in 
civilization and religion. 

One of the most perilous tendencies of modern 
civilization is the neglect of the home. In many 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

places it seems but little more than a ^^compound 
contrivance of dormitory and eating-house/' ^'a 
convenient halfway house where one comes to rest 
a little between two prolonged absences." Chris- 
tian men and women, ought we not to awake to 
live again the home life, to cultivate anew the 
home feeling, to resuscitate the home joys, which 
have been almost smothered to death by the com- 
plexity of modern civilization and the insanity of 
a false pleasure? 

There ought to be a church in every house. 
Every home should be a sanctuary of the Most 
High, a shrine of worship and altar of prayer. 
Every parent should be a prophet teaching the 
children the truth of God; a priest interceding 
with God in their behalf; a king ruling them, in 
God's stead, with divine authority. 

The alarming symptom of our religious life is 
that many of our homes are anything but sanctu- 
aries of worship. They are boarding-houses, 
schoolrooms, pleasure halls, gaming-rooms — any- 
thing but churches ! But when we remember what 
a true home ought to be — the divine affections that 
ought to reign there, the sturdy virtues that ought 
to grow there, the noble aspirations that ought to 
be kindled there, the holy resolves that ought to 
be breathed there ; when we remember that in its 
holy courts we see the first rosy smile that blos- 
soms upon the lips of infancy and hear the last sad 
sigh that lingers upon the face of our dead — 
surely the home ought to be the sanctuary of the 
Infinite God! 

But what hindrances there to the establishment 
of this sacred shrine ! — the rush of business, the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

pressure of work, the intricacies of our social life. 
The father is off to business in the morning before 
the children are up. The children are to bed in 
the evening before the father or mother returns. 
But I insist that where there is a will there is a 
way. Once a day at least in every Christian house- 
hold there ought to be the gathering of the family 
for united prayer. 

The child brought up in a true Christian home 
has an inheritance far more to be desired than 
the mere trophies of commercial supremacy. There 
is the sanctified mother's love, pure and fadeless 
as the unfading stars. There is the example of a 
faithful father, the child's first sign and symbol 
of God. Principles of sturdy honesty, reverence, 
virtue, and piety, like bands of pure gold, bind 
children and parents together. Then too there is 
that indefinable something that is woven into the 
very warp and woof of the child life. And not the 
least of this rich inheritance is the memory of the 
hour of prayer, when father took the Bible — old, 
dear, timeworn book — read from its sacred pages, 
and then, while all heads were bowed, this priest 
of the family, would commend his loved ones to 
the blessing of Almighty God. What a priceless 
legacy is this ! 

11. THE WATERS OF MARAH AND ELIM 

Scripture: Exod. 15. 20-27. 

Recall the incident of which the passage read 
is a part. In the midst of a fertile plain, rich in 
flowers, high-stemmed and wide-reaching palms, 
and above all delicious springs, the children of 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Israel have struck their camp. The miraculous 
escape which they have just experienced has made 
all hearts well-nigh delirious with joy. Their 
feelings can find adequate and fitting expression 
only in song and public rejoicing. The people 
drew together, and as they danced Moses sang that 
noble triumphal ode which reappears again and 
again in psalm and prophecy, and is transferred in 
the Apocalypse to those who stand singing on the 
sea of glass mingled with fire. Then Miriam, 
noblest of the daughters of the people, struck her 
harp and celebrated the sinking of Pharaoh's host 
like lead in the midst of the mighty waters. De- 
livered from bondage, the children of Israel ex- 
pected nothing thereafter but perpetual prosperity 
and happiness. Sadness and hardship were in the 
past, joy and success were in the future. As they 
break camp and resume their journey these bright 
anticipations make music in every mind. But, 
alas! the first three days of their journey are 
through a desert wherein there is no water. Thirst 
overtakes them. They do not find the crystal 
streams they expected. Finally, however, as they 
are almost in despair they see palm trees. A 
shout of joy rings through the multitude at this 
sign of water. Eagerly they rush forward and, 
finding twelve wells, dip their cups and raise them 
to their lips; but, alas! the waters are bitter. 
Then they murmur and complain against Moses. 

Disappoinment is incident to life. Many start 
on their journeys expecting sweet water and 
plenty of it, but find thirst and water too bitter 
to drink. Our anticipations often come short of 
realization, our well-matured plans miscarry, and 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

the unexpected is ever happening. Pew travel far 
in life without finding wells which look sweet but 
on being tasted prove to be bitter. 

Disappointments often destroy the balance of 
men's minds, put murmurs and complaints upon 
their lips, and lead them to denounce their great- 
est helpers and truest friends. *'And the people 
murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we 
drink?'' 

When disappointments come they should lead us 
to seek help in prayer. Moses knew where to go 
when the clouds hung dark and heavy — "and he 
cried unto the Lord." 

God can overrule disappointments and make 
the bitter waters sweet. "And the Lord showed 
him a tree, which when he had cast into the 
waters, the waters were made sweet." God has 
reasons for the discipline of disappointment which 
when realized will be to our unrest what the tree 
was to the waters of Marah. Among these reasons 
are the following: (1) Disappointments often 
stimulate to efifort. (2) They often result in soul- 
culture and promote the growth of the kingdom of 
God in our hearts. (3) We have the promise of 
God that he will help us in our disappointments. 

Disappointment is an incident or episode in the 
journey of life, but not the essence of life itself. 
After the Israelites passed Marah in about two 
hours they came to Elim, where were twelve wells 
of water and threescore and ten palm trees. Sun- 
shine is normal, not shadow. If we follow the 
cloud and pillar of God's leadings, our bitter ex- 
periences and sad disappointments will be fol- 
lowed by tokens of God's mercy and goodness. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Our thirst will be satisfied by sweet water, and 
our weary souls will flud rest under the shade of 
the seventy palm trees. 



Suggestion: Spend a few minutes, before the 
presentation of the theme, in having those present 
repeat favorite passages of Scripture, with oc- 
casional sentence comments by the leader. 



12. THE STRANGE EXPERIENCE OF A 
CHRISTIAN 

Scripture : Acts 28. 1-6. 

It looks as if Paul's helpful spirit were the 
occasion of his being bitten by the viper. He 
might have sat by while others did the work. 
Many, no doubt, did that. He might have felt 
perfectly Justified in sitting by, saying to him- 
self, ^^Making this fire is not my affair. I am not 
in charge here. Let the seamen do the work, now 
we are all ashore. It is their business.'^ 

But Paul had stepped in and proved himself a 
master of the situation on the ship, and now 
ashore he seems the foremost to turn to and help. 
But if he had not tried to be so helpful he would 
not have been bitten. Have you ever heard of 
people being bitten when they tried to be helpful 
— by the adder of sharp criticism, for instance? 

Paul did not ask whose business it was to make 
fires, he started in to help. The situation needed 
it. If you and I are to help we shall sometimes 
have to start right in irrespective of the regular or 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

official procedure. Official and regularly author- 
ized assistance is often pretty slow. The neigh- 
borly spirit will demand that emergencies be met 
quickly. Something has to be done besides filling 
out a blank and waiting. But we shall be bitten 
for our pains, perhaps. Not improbable. There 
are vipers along the pathway of service, as Paul 
found, and many after him. Many a business man 
has followed the impulses of his kind heart — 
wishing to help a friend or neighbor who was 
down — given credit, indorsed paper, and was 
severely bitten. 

After the bystanders saw what had happened 
they said Paul was doubtless a murderer, and this 
a judgment. Have you ever heard of people who 
were called hard names because they did some- 
thing to help but it was not appreciated or under- 
stood? Have you ever been misunderstood when 
you were really trying to be neighborly and acted 
or advised the best you knew? There are bound 
to be some situations where if you and I do noth- 
ing we shall be thought indifferent, and if we act 
on our warmest impulses some one will deal out 
sharp criticisms. One cannot always avoid the 
adder. 

But notice that the apostle received no perma- 
nent harm — only the temporary pain of the sting. 
He shook off the viper easily. He felt certain that 
his Divine Master who had protected him from 
dangers so often would protect him still. He knew 
he was in God's care, firmly trusted, as he had 
been assured, that he should see Rome, and there- 
fore he felt no fear. And what might have been 
a fatal catastrophe became a passing incident. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

And what shall protect us when perchance we 
have been bitten by the adder of somebody's un- 
scrupulousness or harsh criticisms? The con- 
sciousness of the sincerity of our hearts, the purity 
and unselfishness of our motives — that we were 
trying to follow our Master in the path of helpful- 
ness and service. That will prove antidote enough. 
We shall feel the temporary sting of pain, but no 
virus will remain to poison the life. 

My friends, the longer I live the more firmly I 
am convinced that so long as we serve Christ with 
a true heart no one can injure us permanently but 
ourselves. 

13. THE FORGIVING SPIRIT 

Scripture: Matt. 18. 21-35. 

The phrase in the communion invitation, ^^Ye 
that . . . are in love and charity with your neigh- 
bors," naturally leads up to the thought of for- 
giveness. One of the ways in which to make the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper of largest spir- 
itual benefit is to notice the emphasis Jesus 
placed upon this beautiful Christian grace. 

This idea of forgiveness is fundamental in the 
Master's teaching. In the Sermon on the Mount 
he insisted that reconciliation must come before 
worship (Matt. 5. 23, 24). In the parable of the 
unjust steward, he was trying to show how im- 
possible it is to get right with God without getting 
right with men. The petition in the Lord's 
Prayer, ^^Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
those who trespass against us," shows that for- 
giveness is administered on a sliding scale. The 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

unforgiving man practically prays that he may 
remain unforgiven. The picture of the elder 
brother in the story of the prodigal son reveals a 
man spiritually mean, who lacks the grace of for- 
giveness, and serves to show the injurious, if not 
fatal, effects of such lack. 

In practical, modern life, forgiveness is the pre- 
requisite of pardon. The willingness to push one's 
own personal considerations aside makes it easier 
for another to overlook an injury or slight against 
him, and the disposition to insist upon the pay- 
ment of the last farthing of debt inspires an ex- 
acting spirit in others. So long as we fail to for- 
give others, others will find it dijBficult to forgive 
us, and our prayer to God will be a useless ex- 
penditure of breath. 

The willingness to forgive is the price of power 
in the individual life. The presence of narrow- 
ness, meanness, and vindictiveness in any life robs 
it of its charm and inspiration. It is the warm 
sunshine that calls forth leaves and flowers. Frost 
makes such development impossible. The unfor- 
giving spirit not only means spiritual poverty in 
one's own life, but also closes channels of social 
usefulness. Moral supremacy is incompatible with 
that selfishness and inclemency which takes no ac- 
count of human frailty. Some of the greatest 
ethical achievements are passive. To conquer the 
disposition to insist upon petty exactions is as 
great a victory as to conquer a city. 

Forgiveness is the sine qua non of progress in 
the local church. Both pastors and district super- 
intendents can testify from observation that there 
can be no prosperity for a local church where the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

unforgiving spirit is dominant, and where squab- 
bling factions advertise the fact to the community 
at large. The practice in some churches in the 
matter of forgiveness comes far short of the New 
Testament standard, and this discrepancy is al- 
most fatal to growth. The non-churchgoing com- 
munity is quick to detect among the professed 
followers of Christ that which is unworthy. The 
public service which the church attempts to render 
leaves it open to the public view. The church is 
like a city set on a hill — whether or not it is domi- 
nated by the spirit of the Master. Much of its in- 
fluence is due to the character of the lives of the 
individual members. The spirit of unforgiveness 
not only destroys the unity without which there is 
little strength or courage, but especially makes 
more difficult its victory over evil forces. 

The frequent observance of Holy Communion is 
an oft-repeated call to treat others, who perhaps 
have been guilty of willful injury, as if no offense 
had been committed. It is a call to sympathy and 
patience — to act as though unconscious of injury 
or neglect. The forgiving church is the Christlike 
church. 

Suggestions: Use the Methodist Hymnal. Let 
the minister and members of the Official Board 
personally invite people to attend this meeting. 



14, PRAYER AND FRUIT-BEARING 

Scripture: John 15. 1-16. 

Christ, the vine; we believers, the branches. 
Christ, the life; apart from him, only death. The 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Life is in the world that there may be fruit. The 
power to bear fruit is only in the vine, not in the 
branches; and yet the vine bears the fruit only 
through the branches. 

Not that the fruitfulness of the Christ-life in 
the world depends upon you and me as individuals. 
That is not the teaching of Christ. '^If a man 
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and 
is withered ; and men gather them, and cast them 
into the fire, and they are burned." The branch 
that abides not in the vine perishes ; but the vine 
itself neither ceases to live nor to bear fruit abun- 
dantly through the branches that abide. In Christ 
is inextinguishable, inexhaustible, abounding life; 
and the life is never fruitless. 

To bear fruit is that which above all else glori- 
fies the Father; for herein is expressed, in deed 
and in truth, his loving purpose toward men. And 
it was solely the glory of the Father that Jesus 
sought. The disciples of the Master, who sought 
only the Father's glory, are his disciples indeed, 
if they learn this supreme lesson. 

To abide in Christ means to live a life of prayer. 
In nature the branch, though wondrously drawing 
its life from the vine, abides therein without 
thought or will. But in the sphere of personal 
life it is not so. Not by a law of natural neces- 
sity do men abide in Christ. The life which his 
Spirit has begotten in us through the Word is also 
fed by the Word according as we seek to know 
and do the will of God. God's love, indeed, comes 
to men unsought, and it comes with its own won- 
drous conquering power; and yet it is only willing 
hearts that believe and live in it. It is not ours, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

but Christ's, to give and to sustain the inner life ; 
but it is ours, by his grace, to hunger and thirst 
after righteousness ; ours to ask, to seek, to knock. 

To abide in Christ means that there is estab- 
lished a vital relation with the Source of infinite 
grace. Believing prayer is — for God has willed 
it so — the channel for that grace. And nothing 
is impossible with God. So also nothing is im- 
possible to him that prays aright. True prayer 
seeks the Father's will, and the child of God can 
know the Father's will. To know how to pray one 
must abide in Christ and Christ's words must 
abide in him. The prayer that is really offered up 
through Christ — not in form only, but in spirit — 
meets the unmeasured and unfailing promise of 
God. But there is absolutely no promise for the 
"prayer" that seeks of God that which God never 
designed to give. "Prayer is appointed to convey 
the blessings God designs to give." What true 
child of God desires other "blessings"? And 
would they be blessings? But let us not forget 
that it is God's way to give his richer blessings 
only as we ask in faith. They are prepared for us 
long ago, but they are not forced upon us. 

Now, the one constant, deepest prayer of a true 
disciple of Christ must be, "Father, glorify thy 
name.^' And his name shall be glorified in so far 
as we bear fruit — fruit in our own lives, fruit in 
the spread of his kingdom. If this is our master 
passion — if with this desire we hang upon God by 
every fiber of our being — can we doubt that He 
who sent his Son into the world that the world 
might be saved will give us the desire of our 
hearts? Not all at once, not as by magic, but in 

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God's own time and way^ Christ's perfect kingdom 
shall have come. And it is our unspeakable privi- 
lege to share in the work. 



15. HOW TO BRING THE HIDDEN 
LIFE TO LIGHT 

Scripture : Col. 4. 2-17. 

The phrase ^^hidden life'' is the key of this 
epistle. It is found in the frequently repeated 
word ^^mystery," which has reference to the 
Eleusinian mysteries, into which Greeks were in- 
itiated under an awful oath of secrecy. It may 
also have reference to the esoteric or hidden teach- 
ing of the philosophies of Paul's day. The ^^hidden 
life" is again suggested by such sentences as "in 
whom are hid the treasures of wisdom," and "your 
life is hid with Christ in God." "God would make 
known . . . this mystery." It is surprising how 
well a popular exegetical treatment of the entire 
epistle will work out with this key. 

First of all, Paul tells us that the hidden life is 
brought to light through prayer for an open 
door-— "praying for us also, that God may open 
unto us a door for the word." Paul was in prison, 
and no. doubt chafed because of his inability to 
spread the gospel more rapidly. Singularly 
enough, he thinks not of himself, but of the re- 
straints which his chains may impose upon the 
gospel. We may well believe that this was his 
prayer even before his imprisonment. Because he 
ever prayed for an open door he found it, and 
entered into wider service through it. Should not 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

this be the ambition of Christians everywhere? If 
we have no desire for an open door, for a wider 
service in the world, it is to our everlasting dis- 
credit. The discovery of the absence of such cath- 
olic spirit in us should drive us at once to our 
knees until it shall become a fact in our lives. But 
suppose we should pray for an open door and it 
should be given to us? Would it be creditable to 
us if we did not measure up to the opportunities 
which it gave? The church is actually embar- 
rassed with open doors at home and abroad. It 
owns the wealth which can buy up the opportuni- 
ties these bring. They are not, however, bought up 
as rapidly as they could be. The church also has 
the personal power to buy them up but does not do 
it because of too great indisposition of many to 
assume a responsibility in personal evangeliza- 
tion. Surely we need also to pray that we may 
enter the door which is already open to us. To 
know Christ is a trust as well as a treasure. 

Prayer is not enough. We may help to open 
doors. Do we wish a way opened to the hearts of 
men? Then, says Paul, ^^walk in wisdom toward 
them that are without, redeeming the time. Let 
your speech be always with grace, seasoned with 
salt, that ye may know how we ought to answer 
each one." Will anything open a door to the 
hearts of men sooner than consistent daily living? 
They who are ^^without" observe more keenly than 
we seem to imagine. Can we hope to win them to 
Christ if we are not living epistles? This is one 
way to bring them to Christ, and another way is to 
speak personally with them. A silent influence is 
worth much, but a speech which is gracious, ac- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

ceptable, is also effective. Lightfoot suggests that 
our words are acceptable not only when they are 
"opportune as regards the time, but also appro- 
priate as regards the person." Truly it is so, "he 
that is wise winneth souls." Through these won 
by a consistent life and a discreet speech the hid- 
den life is brought to light in the world. 

We may also bring the hidden life to light by 
a cooperation in Christian labors. In the next 
paragraph Paul mentions the men who cooperated 
with him in buying up the opportunities of the 
open door. They are Tychicus, Onesimus, Aris- 
tarchus, Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, 
and Archippus. Would Christianity ever have 
come to light if there had been no united action ? 
If we shall give every righteous cause our moral 
support, as Tychicus and Justus stood with Paul ; 
if like Epaphras we shall strive together in prayer 
as one who contendeth in the arena; and if like 
Archippus we shall give heed to our ministry 
through energetic Christian labors, the hidden life 
will surely come to light in the world through 
multitudes of redeemed souls. 



16. OBEYING THE VISION 

Scripture: Acts 9. 1-6; 26. 19. 

It is wonderful what may come to a man in a 
single hour of his life. Witness Moses at the 
bush, Isaiah in the temple, Saul on the Damascus 
road. So we, too, may have visions of God, real 
and potent in giving direction to life. God is 
always in sight if we only know where to look. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Having had the vision, it must he oleyed. It is 
a great experience to have some hour of divine rap- 
ture when a burning ideal bursts suddenly upon 
the soul ; but it is not less great, after the rapture 
has died away, to make that ideal real in conduct 
and life by a process of gradual unfolding. Life's 
task is to realize its ideal. 

Two great laws characterize human life — the 
law of instantaneity and the law of gradualism. 
A young man in some great hour of his life has a 
vision of scholarship and future brilliant achieve- 
ment, setting his whole nature aglow; and in im- 
agination he sees himself advancing from conquest 
to conquest, coming into realization of the am- 
bitious dreams of his youth. But between the 
ideal and the reri lie years of patient endeavor 
and unremitting toil. Just so when face to face 
with God in holy rapture there may come to us 
suddenly that which may take years to transmute 
into reality. 

That was a wonderful experience Paul had that 
day; but in that epochal hour he saw that which 
took a lifetime to fullill, years of toil and struggle 
and sacrifice and magnificent courage and divine 
heroism. 

Does not this explain the failure of many a 
Christian life? We stop too often with the vision, 
we neglect to transmute these rapturous feelings 
and impulses into conduct and character. A soul 
is bowing penitently before God. God hears its 
cry and whispers, ^^Thy sins are all forgiven thee" ; 
and there comes bounding into it a new joy, and 
there comes bursting from it a new song, even 
praises unto our God. But when one looks a few 

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months later, too often the song has become mute 
and the vision has died away. 

How often you and I, under some searching, 
spiritual sermon, have been stirred to our very 
depths, and our hearts were set leaping with new 
divine aspirations and resolutions. But, alas! 
alas ! the mood soon passed away, and we con- 
tinued to be just what we had been before. That 
is the tragedy of Christian life. 

Our lives bud and blossom all over with im- 
pulses, but so few of them ripen into deed. We 
aim so high and we live so low. Strength of char- 
acter must always be measured by the power to 
crystallize aspiration into deed, to convert convic- 
tion into character. 

Obey the heavenly vision! Make it permanent 
and real in conduct and life! Paul began imme- 
diately to obey, crying, "Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do?" And day after day, through all the 
long years of his life, he never ceased asking, 
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Obey the 
vision instantly; pursue it continuously, persist- 
ently; incarnate it into life! 

Have we ever had the vision — the vision of his 
grace, the vision of his glory, the vision of duty? 
If not let us press our way into his presence this 
very hour, and face to face with the Infinite obe- 
diently cry, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 



Suggestions : Let the minister be in the spirit of 
prayer before attending this meeting. Let the 
meeting be spontaneous and informal. Sing no 
weak and sentimental songs. Emphasize fellow- 
ship. Try to sense the presence of God. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

17. THE DEEPER BLESSING 

Scripture: Matt. 16. 17. ^^Blessed art thou, 
Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 
heaven.'^ 

This is what we might call a surprising bless- 
ing. There are four questions that we may well 
ask about it all: What called forth the blessing? 
What was the special peculiarity of the blessing? 
What was the inner reason for the blessing? And, 
finally, is the blessing a present one? In answer- 
ing these questions we shall get the lessons of the 
Saviour's words. 

We note, first, that this blessing was pro- 
nounced because of a confession of faith in Christ. 
The way along which Peter came to the confession 
was long. Christ was hungry for trust. He 
longed for men to believe in him. He was always 
saddened by signs of disbelief. He would even go 
so far as to seek to win a confession of faith in 
himself. In this instance he directly questioned 
his disciples: "Who do men say that I the Son 
of man am T^ You remember the reply : Some said 
that he was Elias ; some, Jeremias ; others, one of 
the prophets. Then came the question direct: 
"Who say ye that I am?" In response Peter gave 
the first full confession of Christ: "We believe 
that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God." Immediately Jesus pronounced the word of 
blessing. 

How did Peter get his confession ? Why did his 
confession diflfer from that of others whose views 
had been reported? He had lived with Christ. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

In truth, our creeds can never go deeper than 
our experiences. An opinion may precede experi- 
ence; a creed comes after experience. Men who 
had seen Christ weep said, ^^He is Jeremias.'' 
Those who had seen the Lord in his sterner mo- 
ments said, ^^He is Elias.'' So the creed was 
as deep as the experience. Peter had a deeper 
experience; therefore he had a deeper creed. He 
had lived with Christ. Out of the life came the 
faith. The lesson for us is that our faith is not 
likely to be deeper than the life we live. The man 
who lives distant from Christ is sure to get a creed 
distant from the truth. 

What was the special peculiarity of this bless- 
ing? In a general way, it had the peculiarity that 
always marked the blessings of Christ. He is 
represented as pronouncing blessings upon men 
twenty-six different times — this in the Gospels. 
The Acts, also, name one other blessing, unre- 
corded in the four Gospels. Jesus never pro- 
nounced a blessing on those whom we would ex- 
pect him to call blessed — ^never on the rich, or the 
wise, or the wealthy, as such. His blessings were 
always pronounced on some spiritual quality. 
Read the Beatitudes, and see how plain this is. 
Then read elsewhere: "Blessed is he, whosoever 
shall not be offended in me"; "Blessed are they 
that have not seen, and yet have believed" ; these 
and others give the lesson. The blessing was pro- 
nounced on Peter because of something that had 
taken place in the inner life of the disciple. Jesus 
said that he was blessed because he had reached 
real faith in himself. 

Why should that faith be a reason for a bless- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

ing? Think of what that faith really means and 
you will quickly see. Here is a man wholly with- 
out that faith. Let it come to him that Christ is 
the Son of God; that he came to save us 
from sin, to eternal character and eternal hap- 
piness; that Christ himself is with those who 
so believe to aid, advise, comfort; and that it 
is possible for one to live constantly in the power 
and peace of that faith ! Is there greater cause for 
blessing than just that? So it was that already 
Peter had his blessing within himself. Christ did 
not say to him, ^^I will bless you." The blessing 
had already been given, according to the spiritual 
law of cause and effect. ^^Blessed art thou !" The 
blessing did not come because Christ spoke; 
rather, Christ spoke because the blesoing had al- 
ready come. The lesson is that faith in Christ 
is the blessing itself. 

This virtually answers our fourth question : Is 
the blessing a present one? May we have this 
blessing? Jesus said to Peter, ^^Flesh and blood 
hath not revealed it unto thee." That word must 
have been spoken for our comfort. We all at times 
repeat the longing of the child : 

"I would like to have been with him then." 

We may even go so far astray as to think that 
Peter was blessed because he got his revelation 
from flesh and blood. Jesus said that he was 
blessed because the revelation came otherwise. 
Paul, the greatest of the apostles, pushed his claims 
clear back into the same spiritual region. When 
his fellow disciples questioned his apostleship he 
answered them in the first chapter of Galatians. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

In all the account there is no word about the dra- 
matic experience on the Damascus roadway, assur- 
ing as that was. It all came to this one thing: 
^^It pleased God to reveal his Son in me." This is 
the way in which now God reveals his Son. The 
revelation is inner, and the blessing inner. Be- 
cause all this is so, the blessing which Jesus pro- 
nounced on Peter is for us. We can secure it even 
here in this service. Therefore, open your hearts. 



18. LIFE'S BROKEN SHIPS 

Scripture: 1 Kings 9. 26; 22. 48. 

There is a suggestive little story in the First 
Book of Kings. It tells how King Jehoshaphat 
had made up his mind that he would send his ships 
from the naval station at Ezion-geber to the land 
of Ophir after gold, but the ships never sailed. 
Something broke them. Whether they sailed out 
of the harbor and were broken at the mouth of the 
sea by some terrific storm, or whether some inland 
storm cut down across the harbor and broke them 
to pieces as they rode at anchor, the condensed 
record does not inform us. In any event, the ships 
did not sail and the king did not get his gold. 

There are a great many of life's ships that are 
broken in that way — broken to pieces in the harbor 
ere they sail. Life is full of disappointments. A 
man fits himself for business and his health breaks 
down just as his great financial opportunities 
open. A young woman fits herself for useful serv- 
ice by college training only to come home and die. 
A good woman, who was to entertain me in an 

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Eastern city, took me upstairs and pointed 
through the glass in the bookcase to a college 
diploma with its delicate ribbons about it, and 
said : ^This room has not been used since the day 
my daughter came home from college and threw 
her diploma in there just as you see it, and said, 
*I have that anyhow.' She went to bed and never 
got up alive." What a broken ship was that for 
that mother! All of us have known our broken 
ships that were made ready at great cost, about 
which there were many fond ambitions, but the 
storm came and they were broken down ere they 
sailed, or if they sailed it was only to disaster. 

These broken ships do not by any means indi- 
cate the anger or displeasure of God with us. 
Perhaps it was the best thing that ever happened 
to King Jehoshaphat that these ships went to 
pieces. Solomon had good luck with these ships 
from that very port. Again and again they made 
successful voyages to Ophir and brought back not 
only gold and silver, but ivory, monkeys, and pea- 
cocks, and it had a great deal to do with working 
Solomon's ruin. If you will read this story you 
will notice that though these ships were broken 
up and failed in their venture Jehoshaphat re- 
mained a good king to the end of his life and died 
in honor. Perhaps the broken ships had some- 
thing to do with it. 

One thing is sure, that no matter how many 
disappointments we have, nor how many of our 
ships go to pieces in the storm, the passenger is 
worth more than the ships, and we may have the 
favor of God though all our ships were broken. 
Jehoshaphat lived and died with God's approval, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

though he did not get the gold from Ophir. Paul 
saw his ship beaten to pieces in the storm, but 
in the darkness of the night God's angel stood by 
him and told him to be of good cheer, and prom- 
ised him to save the life of every man on the ship 
with him. The broken ship gave Paul great op- 
portunities to be of help and blessing to many 
people on the island where they were cast. Often 
our sorrows and disappointments and failures 
bring us into more helpful fellowship with others 
than our successes. Prosperity often separates us 
from our fellow men. Adversity often brings us 
closer to them. Let us not worry too much over 
the broken ships; the important thing is to keep 
unbroken our fellowship with Christ. 



19. ON DOUBT 



Scripture: Luke 7. 19-23. 

The question of John^ "Art thou he that should 
come, or look we for another?" is the problem of 
final authority with which man is always en- 
grossed. The question was born of doubt. This is 
characteristic of the problem it suggests. Man is 
unreasonable when he asks for finality. He over- 
looks the plain indicia concerning finality and 
worries over problems no man can solve. In realms 
other than that which pertains to the soul life, the 
eternal, man does not seek finality. The masters 
of art in the Renaissance have never been sur- 
passed or even equaled. Yet no one stands before 
a Raphael or a Michael Angelo and asks, "Art 
thou he that should come, or look we for another ?'' 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

However low the artist's ideal may descend or 
bungling his technique become, no one knows what 
masters the future may not hold in waiting. And 
no one ever closes the door on the future. So of 
music, of literature, of philosophy. The same is 
true of religion, or rather of the religions — con- 
sidered in their tribal or ethnic relationships. The 
world at large is not asking of Buddha or Mo- 
hammed, "Art thou he that should come?'' 

Yet John's question was a natural one. He had 
proclaimed the Messiah. He had risked his life 
for him. He was suffering imprisonment for him. 
A dingy and damp cell was the reward of his en- 
thusiasm for Jesus. Into that cell came not the 
bright rays presaging the victory of the Coming 
One ; rather was the air heavy and the room dark 
because of the reports of JTesus's failure. Was 
Jesus the final one, or was he, John, perhaps mis- 
taken ? So we ask in our gloom and doubt : What 
is final? Where is finality? 

Jesus knew^ how to handle John. He might have 
talked at some length to John's disciples, explain- 
ing the purpose and success of his mission and 
showing clearly that he was, in fact, the Coming 
One. But the disciples would have gone off wag- 
ging their heads; they too were tinctured with 
doubt, and Jesus's words would have availed little. 
An ocular demonstration was necessary. He an- 
swers not a word. He acts. When he is through 
he says: "Now go tell John what you have seen 
and heard. The blind are seeing again, the lame 
are walking about, the lepers are being cured, the 
deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised up, 
the poor are having the good news told to them ; 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

blessed is he whosoever shall not be oflfended in 
me.'^ 

So Jesus answers the doubts of men. Are they 
about God? He does not speak as the philosopher 
of the school. There is no discussion whatsoever. 
^^Our Father" is the answer. *'He that hath seen 
me hath seen the Father." So simple that the 
child understands at once ; so comprehensive that 
the learned man never ceases to contemplate it. 
Is the question about immortality ? Again no dis- 
cussion: ^^I am come that they might have life." 
^^I am the resurrection, and the life." ^^I go to 
prepare a place for you." ^^And as many as re- 
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the 
sons of God." Was the problem one of right con- 
duct? Jesus received by giving, became strong by 
being weak, controlling by being gentle, lived be- 
cause he died. And the world understands him 
and knows what is right conduct. 

These are the final answers man receives; but 
only in the presence of the Master. Doubt is born 
in the prison cell far from the sunshine of Jesus. 
Then we haggle over the nonessentials which are 
many and complex and see not the essential which 
is one and simple. 

Had John been in the presence of the Master he 
would never have asked this question. 



20. HEDGED IN 



Scripture: Job 3. 

The book of Job might well be called the Book 
of Great Questions, for nearly all the hard prob- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

lems of human life are touched upon in the rounds 
of debate between Job and his friends. There is 
the question of the immortality of the soul : ^^If a 
man die, shall he live again?" There is the mys- 
tery of the success of the sinful: ^^Wherefore do 
the wicked live, become old, yea, wax mighty in 
power?" Again, Job deals with the nature of God 
and the problem of prayer in these two questions : 
"What is the Almighty, that we should serve 
him?" and, ^What profit should we have, if we 
pray unto him?" But one of the most searching 
questions touches the world-old problem of human 
limitation and suffering in these trenchant words : 
^^Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, 
and whom God hath hedged in ?" Every thinking 
man and woman must face this question and frame 
some kind of an answer. 

Job has correctly defined our human life as 
"hedged in." We live but a day at a time, and no 
man can tell what the future has in store. There 
are physical limitations. Some are born cripples, 
others live lives of invalidism under the slow proc- 
esses of disease. Mental limitations abound, and 
ignorance is often found in the place of authority. 
Spiritual limitations affecting not only the sinful 
man himself, but many of his fellow beings, are 
common. Circumstances often hedge us in on 
every side, and circumstances too that are not of 
our own making. Thus, to say nothing of the 
threatenings and destructions of nature, or of the 
ever-present shadow of death, it is plain that our 
human life is one of limitation and pain. Where 
is the way out? How shall we answer Job's ques- 
tion? How shall we keep our faith in God? 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

The answer to Job's question is to be found only 
in life. He himself answered it thus uncon- 
sciously, and thereby proved that life is greater 
than any theory of it. Job lived through his suf- 
ferings, and thereby revealed his deep practical 
optimism. What do we actually see in human 
life? Do we not see upon the whole that this 
world, imperfect as it is, is really a perfect world 
for the work intended? It appears to draw out 
and develop our powers of head and heart. Strug- 
gle and suffering make men and women of us. 
Limitation too is necessary. Ruling out of this 
consideration humanity's self-imposed limitations, 
of which there are many, we are hedged in by 
Wisdom and Love that we may grow from char- 
acter to character. The main thing in life is not 
passive enjoyment, for which the criticisers of this 
imperfect world clamor, but active development, 
which reflection shows us is going on in our midst. 
For this latter task the world, as it is, is a perfect 
instrument. Thus we judge this so-called evil 
world by the work actually accomplished. Civili- 
zation is progressing. Ethical ideals grow more 
and more compelling. Mutual helpfulness is be- 
coming in a vital way the order of the day. Life 
vindicates God's method. 

And God himself has supreme faith in this 
method. What but this does the life and death of 
his Son Jesus Christ prove? God recognizes the 
apparent imperfection of this earthly order, but so 
sure is he of its value for the work in hand that in 
the person of the Christ he endures the limitations 
and woes of human life. "He that spared not his 
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

shall he not also with him freely give us all 
things?" The life and death of Christ, on the 
one hand, is a pledge, and the actual fruit in life, 
on the other, is the proof, that this imperfect 
world is a perfect world in the light of God's pur- 
pose for us. 

Suggestion: Let the "shut-ins'' send written 
testimonies as to God's wisdom and goodness. 
Hymns 128, 472. 

21. THE CURE OF WORRY 

Scripture : Luke 10. 38-42. 

The Transient Character of Worry. Worries 
are not abiding things in our lives. They are 
transient as morning's chill and noon's heat. They 
are not central in our living, but external; the 
little, fretting cares of the day which never really 
touch the deep places in our lives. Yet they harass 
and trouble us and destroy our peace until they 
seem the all-absorbing problem of our living. 

The l^eed for Perspective. Worry is life out of 
perspective. It is to-morrow and next week and 
next year crowded into to-day, so that all we can 
see is just the crowded present, so busy and so 
worrisome as to seem utterly beyond our wisdom 
and strength. The trouble is that our living has 
no perspective. It is like our being stationed at 
inch distance from our painted life canvas. The 
worries and cares we ought never to be thinking 
about until to-morrow or next week are here 
elbowing those of to-day. As the great and dis- 
tant mountains, ever waiting, never intruding, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-^MEETING HELPS 

give perspective to all the lesser, little things that 
lie between us, so Jesus and love unfailing and 
God our Father give us the perspective of life. 
They lift themselves like great mountains across 
our horizon to remind us that, after all, the little 
passing troubles and worries are not the lasting 
things in this world. Whenever you can see Jesus 
beyond your worries you may be sure that your 
life has found its perspective. Martha lost Jesus 
in table duties and household cares. Mary had 
found the mountains. 

The Fear of Oiiteomes. Most of our worries are 
due to our fears concerning the outcomes of the 
things we have undertaken ; doubts of ourselves, of 
our plans, of our future, our success, our ability. 
These are the worries that steal our peace. Are 
we trying to do in our human strength, fearfully 
and doubtfully, that which God himself wishes to 
do for us? We may trust outcomes to him. To 
fear the outcome is to distrust God. 

A Friend's Counsel. Many cares are real, how- 
ever, and not fancied. They are real problems and 
bring us real pain. There are problems of tempta- 
tion and of sin and of responsibility which we 
must meet. These are not settled at a breath. 
But have we forgotten that we have a Friend? 
What a comfort it is to bring our perplexities to 
a true friend ! He does not feel the nervous pres- 
sure of the problem nor our own tense anxiety. 
Calmly and carefully he studies it, and his de- 
cision clears away all its diflSculty. Do we forget 
that better part which makes our Friend the con- 
stant presence to the exclusion of our cares, the 
ready help on every problem? 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Our Spirit in Our Cares. Cares are as the 
physician's vials, nothing in themselves. It is 
what we put into them that counts. What spirit 
are you putting into these common trials and 
worries of the everyday? Anger and fretfulness, 
or sweet patience and love and unfaltering faith? 
It is not guest-care our Lord desires of us, anxiety 
about meat and drink. These will only last for 
to-day. It is the supremacy over these things by 
the spirit in which we meet them. 

The Rightful Attitude toward Care. There is a 
way in which we may govern our attitude toward 
our cares. Jesus taught Martha what it was to 
make God the first and the supreme interest in our 
living. Just a moment for God's better part will 
put a new spirit into the day. To feel its worry 
and care with the presence of God is to rise above 
them. 

Suggestion : Have special committees appointed 
— each committee being responsible for the success 
of one meeting. 

22. THE GREATEST PRAYER IN THE 
WORLD 

Scripture: Eph. 3. 14-21. 

The Lord's Prayer and this prayer came equally 
from Christ: transmission through Matthew, in- 
spiration through Paul. The Lord's Prayer, given 
specifically for the disciples, and, so far as we 
know, never used personally by Christ, is the more 
generic and better adapted to humanity as a 
whole. The later prayer is for advanced Chris- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

tians. The two may be called: The Disciples' 
Prayer; the Prayer for the Saints. 

"I bow my knees." Spiritual attitude in prayer, 
that of humility and supplication. 

^^From whom every family (or fatherhood) in 
heaven and on earth is named/' Sweep of the 
prayer — ^no petty sect or nation, nor even that 
section of the race now knowing Christ or now 
accepting him, but ^^from whom every fatherhood 
in heaven and on earth is named" ; all are God's 
children, by creation, redemption, and visitation 
of the Spirit. This constitutes the infinite tragedy 
of the prodigal's rejection of the Father. 

^^That he would grant you." The prayer's sweep 
matched by its particularity, you. The blessing 
not according to our merits, but ^^according to the 
riches of his glory." 

The best gift which even the riches of his glory 
can bring us is strength with power through his 
Spirit in the inward man. The nineteenth cen- 
tury discovered physical powers latent in the uni- 
verse and transformed material civilization. We 
may discover spiritual powers latent in the God 
of the universe — power of prayer, Pentecosts, 
promise in Matt. 28. 20, divine providence, etc. — 
and so may transform the church in the twentieth 
century and bring in the New Humanity in Christ. 

^^That Christ may dwell in your hearts" — dwell- 
ing, not simply visiting us. 

"Through faith." The means through which we 
receive Christ — faith as faithfulness (Matt. 25. 21, 
31-46), faith as vision (Heb. 11. 1, 23-27), faith as 
trust, by which we cease to be self-centered and 
become Christ-centered (Gal. 2. 20). 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

"To the end" — even indwelling of Christ not an 
end in itself; we must use him if we would have 
him abide. 

^'Rooted and grounded in love" — love the law of 
the universe, the fundamental human manifesta- 
tion of salvation, as faith is its fundamental hu- 
man means. 

^^May be strong to apprehend with all the saints 
what is the breadth and length and height and 
depth, and to know the love of Christ [for us] 
which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled 
unto all the fullness of God." This is the purpose 
of Christ's indwelling, the result of faith, the in- 
evitable consummation of obedience to the law of 
love. 

"Filled unto all the fullness of God." I no 
more know how my poor, petty, sinful soul is to 
be filled unto all the fullness of God than how the 
Atlantic Ocean is to be crowded into a pint cup. 
The prayer is literally infinite in its reach — the 
loftiest prayer in the world. 

"Now unto him." The Infinite God and Father 
is to fulfill these promises. "Able to do for us." 
The Spirit brings us back from this infinite sw^eep 
to personal expectation. Our asking almost in- 
finitely beyond our power of achievement; our 
thinking beyond our asking, but he "is able to do 
exceeding — abundantly — above — all — that we ask 
— or think." 

"According to the power that worketh in us." 
Power coming from the union of God and man will 
be the discovery of the twentieth century. 

"Unto all the generations of the age of the 
ages." Read again the whole prayer coming from 

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PREBENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Christ through Paul, and surely you will call it 
the greatest prayer in the world. 



23. CHRISrS COMFORT 

Scripture: John 14. 1-27. 

This selection of Scripture leads us into one of 
the holy places of our Lord's life, and into the 
^^holy of holies" in every disciple's life. The 
"upper chamber" in Jerusalem leads to the inner 
chamber of the soul. 

These were intense days. It was the passion 
week. Jesus "was troubled." Judas was exposed. 
Peter was humbled. All hearts were anxious. A 
great storm, full of rumbling thunders and threat- 
ening lightnings, was about to break upon them. 

In the midst of this tension Jesus said, "I am 
going away." "Whither I go, ye cannot come." 
The hearts of the disciples were filled with dismay. 
A sorrow took possession of them. 

But sorrow is often heaven's door. To what 
riches this door opens in this chapter ! A glimpse 
into heaven is here : "Father's house," "many man- 
sions," "a place prepared for you," "where I am" ; 
and also an opening vista toward Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, and their blessed, eternal fellowships. 
Even here and now there is a door from the world, 
where there is tribulation, into Christ, where there 
is peace; from the realm of human association and 
disappointments, to the inner abiding place of the 
Holy Spirit; from the sorrow of separation to 
the comforts of belief and knowledge. 

Belief and knowledge are the two sources of 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

comfort. The Master began with belief — what 
the disciples did believe, and what they must be- 
lieve. ^^Ye believe in God." Of this there could be 
no doubt. It was an instinct of their hearts, a dic- 
tate of their reason, an unquestioned conviction of 
their souls. Jesus added, ^^believe also in me," 
though you do not understand me — even though 
you do not see me. Trust me; ^^I will come again, 
and will receive you unto myself; that where I 
am, there ye may be also." How hope and comfort 
must have come to their hearts as they listened 
and began to believe! So it is with us: 

"Faith lends its realizing light; 

The clouds disperse, the shadows fly; 
The Invisible appears in sight. 
And God is seen by mortal eye." 

"Then sorrow, touched by Christ, grows bright 

With more than rapture's ray; 
As darkness shows us worlds of light 
We never saw by day." 

So far it was belief, but Jesus led the disciples 
a step further : ^^If ye love me, keep my command- 
ments" — obey me by faith a little while — "and I 
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another 
Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." 
^^Ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall 
be in you." This experience of the presence of 
the Comforter, this divine epiphany in the soul, 
changes belief into knowledge, not by external 
ascertainment, but by an internal consciousness of 
the Most High. 

Hear the Master again : "If a man love me, he 
will keep my word," "and I will love him," "and 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him.'^ Then ^^your 
sorrow shall be turned into joy/' ^^I will see you 
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy 
no one taketh away from you.'' 

"Our hearts, if God we seek to know, 

Shall know him and rejoice; 
His coming like the morn shall be. 
Like morning songs his voice. 

"So shall his presence bless our souls, 

And shed a joyful light; 
That hallowed morn shall chase away 
The sorrows of the night." 



24. JESUS THE DOOR 

Scripture : John 10. 1-10. 

Jesus said, ^^I am the door: by me if any man 
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, 
and find pasture." 

Jesus is the door to the Scriptures. He was a 
Hebrew. At the age of twelve he astonished the 
doctors with his understanding. Of all the Jews, 
he most sensitively felt the meaning of the words 
of those seers and solitary thinkers who had com- 
muned with the Spirit of the Eternal. He began 
his public ministry with a quotation from the 
prophets. He fulfilled, in himself, the mission of 
the priests. The devotional spirit of the psalmist 
was a prophecy of his oneness with the Father. 
The Mosaic Law remained incomplete until he 
gave forth the two great commandments. The full 
spiritual meaning of the Old Testament cannot be 
understood apart from Jesus. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

The New Testament is the authentic biography 
of Jesus, with notes ard comments. In the Gos- 
pels we read the story of his life on earth. In the 
Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles we feel the 
power of his glorified presence. In the picture 
language of John's visions we find him still brood- 
ing over the seven churches of Asia. 

Jesus is the door to God. It is true that God 
has never left himself without a witness, and that 
holy men in every age before Jesus were able to 
see some gleam of light through the crevice of his 
habitation, but the real nature of God in all its 
matchless splendor and beauty of ethical perfec- 
tion can be seen only in the face of Jesus, ^^who 
is the brightness of his glory, and the express im- 
age of his person.'' 

If we are to know the heart of God we must 
know Jesus ; we must be admitted by him into the 
holy place, the habitation of the Most High. We 
must be admitted not only to the God of power 
who rules with faultless precision the vast ongo- 
ings of the universe; not only to the God who is 
infinite in knowledge and penetrates into the deep- 
est recesses of the human and seeth our motives 
afar off; not onlv to the God that is immanent in 
the world and upholdeth all things by the word of 
his power; but to God, our Father, our Friend, 
who created us for himself and who so loved us 
that he sent his only begotten Son that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but inherit life 
eternal. 

Jesus is the door to moral security. ^'By me if 
any man enter in, he shall be saved." The enemies 
of our characters are stronger and more subtle 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

than we. We are not safe without a shepherd. 
To try to meet temptation in our own strength is 
folly. Overconfidence in ourselves will prove fatal. 
In the matter of salvation, we show our wisdom by 
distrusting our own powers. It is belief in Jesus 
that removes the sense of guilt. We should take 
him at his word. He is the Saviour of all who 
come unto him in faith. Through him we escape 
the evil consequences of selfishness, false humility, 
insincerity, and religious laziness. Through him 
we enter into sonship with the Father and brother- 
hood with mankind. 

Jesus is the door for everyone. ^^I am the way, 
and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto 
the Father, but by me." In making this world- 
wide condition our Lord goes down to the very 
roots of the moral personality, to the will and the 
affection. It means this : Unless you live my life; 
unless you, too, are an incarnation of the truth; 
unless you, too, are living the life of vicarious 
sacrifice; unless you, too, learn that the road to 
Gethsemane and Calvary is God's highway to 
sainthood and Godlikeness, you have no life in 
you, and you can never see the Father. No 
philosopher, no scientist will ever give the world 
that which will set aside his truth and way. Pa- 
gan philosophy and heathen ethics — ^no matter 
how modern — lead to confusion and away from 
God. Jesus is the door. 



Suggestion : If there are tw^o doors to the prayer- 
meeting room, on this night lock the one which 
the people generally use so that they will have to 
enter ^^some other way." 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

25. THE WORLD THE FIELD 

(a missionary prayer service)] 

Scripture: Acts 16. 6-15; Rev. 7. 9-17. 

A little parable: A raindrop fell one day upon 
one of the topmost peaks of the great Rocky 
Mountain Range and found a lodgment upon a 
pebble. For one brief moment it clung to its 
resting place, then gradually began to fall down 
the mountain side, where, joined by others, it 
found itself, now a part of a dashing mountain 
stream, now a part of the rumbling Oregon, and 
now a part of the boundless Pacific. 

How happened it that the raindrop came not to 
be a part of the muddy Missouri, the wide-sweep- 
ing Mississippi, and eventually of the great 
Southern Gulf? Away up yonder, upon the in- 
significant pebble where first the raindrop fell, 
there lay a tiny grain of sand which, small as it 
was, had been suflSciently large to disturb the 
equilibrium of the raindrop, and thus had sent it 
to waters of the Northern Pacific rather than to 
the sunnier wave of the Gulf. 

What a parallel may we find here as touching 
human life! Often that which appears to be an 
insignificant action, a trivial event, an incon- 
siderable decision, may in reality be life's Great 
Divide ! 

Unquestionably that was one of Paul's supreme 
moments when on the Damascus road he saw the 
light and heard the voice. That was another when 
in Mysia he wanted to go into Bithynia but in' 
obedience to the Spirit came instead to Troas. 

Prosaic the words, and yet they record a de- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

cision vital to the whole history of missions — ^vital 
to the welfare of the world. God has ever been 
intolerant of the provincial spirit. Abram, the 
cosmopolite, hears and obeys the words, "Get thee 
out of thy country, ... and in thee shall all fami- 
lies of the earth be blessed.'' 

By symbol, by direct teaching, by historic move- 
ments, God declares he is no mere tribal Deity — 
that redemption is for all the earth. But men 
forget. The Hebrew nation forgot and became 
steeped in provincialism. Then to that provincial 
of provincials, Saul of Tarsus, came the Damascus 
road vision, the Troas vision, and the significant 
word, "To the Gentiles !" Saul, citizen of Tarsus, 
becomes Paul, citizen of a land without frontiers. 
The vision of the largeness of God's plan was his ! 

But what of to-day ? Is the note of universality 
dominant? What of the many who repeat with 
wearying monotony, "Work enough at home with- 
out going abroad"? 

The fall of Jerusalem was to Jeremiah and his 
contemporaries just a horrible and a bloody catas- 
trophe, but within it was contained the movement 
which led up to the revelation of God as hence- 
forth not simply the God of Judah but the one 
God and Saviour of all nations. 

Is there less significance in that modern catas- 
trophe by which the Maine was made a useless 
tangle of wreckage? That exploding mine did 
something more than break a ship in pieces ; some- 
thing more than awaken patriotic fervor through- 
out our land; something more than "shift the 
political gravity of the whole world." It voiced 
again God's protest against provincialism. It was 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

another reannouncement^ "Get thee out of thy 
country!'' God evidently means to make this big 
world first a neighborhood and then a brother- 
hood. 

Already the world-wide neighborhood has been 
created. In thirty years the world has shrunk 
one third. Two cents carries a letter to Berlin ; 
three cents more, to Tokio. The cable brings In- 
dia almost within speaking distance. To travel 
around the world requires but a month. Just as a 
tiny grain of sand could cause the raindrop to 
become a part of the Mexican Gulf instead of the 
Pacific, so the slight shifting of interest on the 
part of the church can send the story of Christ's 
saving love to China or to Africa. America, the 
gospel watershed of the world! 



Suggestions: If possible have a returned mis- 
sionary address the meeting. Read letters from 
missionaries now on the field. Have reports made 
by members of the Mission Study Class. Have 
two or three thoughtful readers of history pre- 
pared to answer the question, What would have 
been the result to the Western world had Paul not 
gone to Troas and entered the "great door and 
effectual" there opened? 



26. IN THE COOL OF THE DAY 

Scripture: Gen. 3. 8. 

The story of the first transgression which is 
given us in Genesis tells us that Adam heard the 
voice of the Lord in the cool of the day and hid 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

himself. The picture is of an Oriental scene. The 
heat of the day has passed, and with the lengthen- 
ing of the shadows a breeze springs up and the 
day gets cool. Adam had sinned in the heat of 
the day. The juice of the apple had very pleas- 
antly slaked his thirst. But now that the cool of 
the day has come he looks back on the sin with 
misgiving and hides himself. 

The story repeats itself in human life. It is an 
old, old problem, this of reconciling the deed done 
in the heat of the day with the reflection which 
comes in the cool of the day. The heat of the day 
and the cool of the day ought not to be in con- 
tradiction. To be sure, the heat of the day has its 
temptations, but these are not to be so yielded to 
as to bring remorse in the cool of the day. For 
God comes in the cool of the day — in those quiet 
moments of reflection when the deed done in the 
heat of the day is reviewed. Yet God can be 
present too in the heat of the day, arming the soul 
with strength for all the conquests of the mid-day. 
If he has been with us in the heat there is, of 
course, no reason why we should dread to see him 
in the cool of the day. 



27. CONSECRATION 

Scripture: Eom. 12. 

As a red thread runs through the ropes of the 
British navy, so the thought of consecration to 
God runs through the Bible. The right hand, 
right eye, right foot of the Levites were touched 
with the blood of the sacrificed animal to signify 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

the devotement of every power and faculty to the 
service of God. The entire people of Israel were 
consecrated to him through the consecration of 
their representatives, the firstborn of the nation. 
When Christ came his command was, "Leave all, 
and follow me." In short, the Bible idea of man- 
hood is that of a being whose life law is obedience, 
who has subordinated his will to the divine will, 
who has brought the currents of his nature where 
is flows parallel with his Lord's desires. 

Is this thought of the Bible the thought of the 
average Christian life? Is the church filled with 
consecrated men and women? What sacrifices 
are most of us making? What privations are we 
enduring? What is our faith costing us? In 
what sense can we say with Peter, "Lo, we have 
left all, and followed thee?" This world manifests 
plenty of sacrifice to vanity. Men will surrender 
every comfort to attain the ends of personal am- 
bition. They will labor until far in the night to 
accumulate wealth. The lover of drink will sacri- 
fice money, health, family to satisfy his appetite. 
This is what is taking place about us; and we 
Christians, what are we doing for truth, for holi- 
ness, for souls in darkness, for the extension of the 
kingdom ? 

Consider some of the motives which should lead 
us to a full surrender to God's sovereign will. 

Full consecration brings with it a larger knowl- 
edge of divine things. The act of submission pre- 
pares for the reception of light. Jesus said those 
who do the will of the Father shall know of the 
doctrine. 

We should consecrate ourselves to God, because 

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we thus find our largest liberty and truest life. 
He that loseth his life shall find it. We renounce 
our old selves^ our old habits, our old nature, that 
we may enter into the richer experiences and 
deeper joys of the life hid in God. Thus also we 
gain our truest freedom. Even Plato said, "The 
more conformed the soul is to the divine will, so 
much more perfect and free it is." Epictetus, in 
like manner, showed that '^submitting the mind 
to the mind that governs all things, as good citi- 
zens to the law, is perfect liberty.'^ Mercury, 
which is nearest the sun, moves round its orbit in 
a flood of light. 

We should consecrate ourselves to God, for we 
exist for him. Luthardt says: "Man and God 
cannot remain apart, but tend toward each other 
by an irresistible necessity ; for God would be the 
God of man and man must be the man of God. We 
may restrain the tendency of things but we can- 
not abolish the law of attraction.'^ Our inner in- 
stincts and longings are thus a testimony to the 
necessity of consecration. 

Consecration is the short cut to spiritual 
growth. It shuts out the enemies that prey upon 
the soul. The heart being fixed on God, the 
source of all goodness, it necessarily becomes good. 
You cannot bring a light into a room without its 
being illumined. 

If we consecrate ourselves to God we shall have 
greater power in Christian work and be of much 
greater service in the kingdom of God. John 
Wesley said, "If I had a hundred Christians who 
knew nothing but God and feared nothing but sin 
I could shake the world.'^ 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Finally, we should consecrate ourselves to God 
because of his boundless and great mercies. They 
are fresh every morning and renewed every night. 
All the bounties of life come from his gracious 
hand. We are always sitting down at his ban- 
quets. Because of the freedom with which he 
gives to us, we should lovingly and fully give him 
our hearts. 

28. THE BUKNING HEART AND THE 
OPEN BOOK 

Scripture: Luke 24. 13-36. 

Follow the disciples as they leave Jerusalem. 
The city that had always been a joy to them has 
become the source of their sorrow. The old 
prophecies, that they had hoped were about to be 
fulfilled, now left them in despair. With a heavy 
heart they are turning their backs upon the scenes 
of these late sorrows. Then the mysterious 
stranger draws near, and warms their hearts till 
all aglow they see a new book, and the lost cause 
becomes the fulfilling of the Scriptures. It was 
the burning heart that enabled them to read the 
open book. 

To many the Bible is a sealed book. We give it 
an honored place in the house, we advocate its 
teaching in the Sunday school and have a pro- 
found respect for it, but it is a closed book. We 
have heard of its wonderful power over the lives of 
men, its balm for life's ills, that it is a trustworthy 
chart on life's sea, and yet we go on poor in spirit, 
sick with disappointment, groping our way in 
darkness. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

The Bible is a sealed book because it is neg- 
lected. We are so newspaper-ridden that we look 
for news and neglect the truth. If we read it, it 
is at a most inopportune time. We try to know 
what it says, but do not stop to ask what it means. 
We are so absorbed with rules to read it through 
that we have forgotten that what we need is a 
new spirit ; rules are never motives. 

Again, we approach it with mistaken concep- 
tions. We look for it to give what it was never 
intended to give. We forget the fact that it is 
history, prophecy, poetry, and parable. It is not 
as much the object of our faith as an aid to faith. 
The Jews were so absorbed with its traditions that 
they had relatively little time to think of God. 

The Bible was born in life. It is a record of 
what God did in the lives of men. It deals mostly 
with deeds instead of words. ^^Let there be light, 
and there was light.'^ What God intended to 
teach he showed in living history. 

His revelation is not in the writing as much as 
in the events it records. The word of the Lord 
was a living communication to men : not the Gos- 
pels alone, but the Christ of the Gospels. It is 
he in the Book who gives value to it. If God is to 
reveal himself to human character he must do so 
by means of character, hence Jesus came and lived 
among us. Hence this book was born in human 
life. These men spoke and wrote because they had 
the burning heart. Out of all that chaos yonder 
came this living, breathing thing, the child of life 
and cradled by experience. Ours is not the re- 
ligion of a book only, it is the result of life. It can 
be interpreted only by life and experience. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Monks and nuns do not read the Bible ; it is not 
intended for them, but belongs to men who move 
out in the world's strong currents. No theorist 
has ever been able to understand it, because it is 
not the product of mere theory; as the theories 
of the college boy become of value only as tested 
in life, so this book becomes a new book when 
tested in daily living. A guidebook is of value in 
the city which it describes. Truth is mine only 
when I have lived it ; every great reality must have 
its sunrise in my own soul. Give me a Bible, and 
I may commit to memory the passages pertaining 
to salvation, but I haven't salvation. You must 
read Whittier with your hearts. When you read 
the Scriptures you find it sweeping the keyboard of 
your whole being, and with Coleridge you cry out, 
^^It finds me." It furnishes a beatitude for every 
condition. I note as life advances in years, ex- 
pands, grows deeper and richer this old book un- 
folds itself more to me and becomes the open book. 
The more you know of Jesus and the closer you 
live to him, the better you understand the book ; 
thus they go hand in hand, they supplement each 
other. 

29. THE IDEAL LIFE 

Scripture: Matt. 5. 3848. 

Perfection is the ideal of life. It would be a 
dreary world without it as an incentive. Every- 
body needs it as an inspiration. The mechanic 
strives for perfection. He knows that if he may 
but master his trade his success is assured. 

I met a horticulturist recently and he said to 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

me, ^^I have a liobbj^; it is the chrysanthemum/' 
I listened to him and soon found that his hobby 
was to grow a perfect plant. He showed me hun- 
dreds of plants, telling with minuteness of the 
virtues of scores of them. His great ambition was 
perfection. And the object was worthy his noble 
undertaking. People who are lovers of this truly 
remarkable flower praise him for the sacrifice that 
he is making to this end. We commend the ideas 
and efforts of such men. 

But does it not seem exceedingly strange that 
when we apply the thought of perfection to char- 
acter so many hesitate? Men say, ^^You can have 
a perfect machine,'' and they are dissatisfied with 
less. They demand a perfect flower and admit it 
is a wonderful creation. But talk of perfect man- 
hood and perfect womanhood and the cry is raised, 
^'It is impossible." Conceding to the work of man 
what we deny to the power of the Almighty ! But 
is it impossible? Has it been demonstrated that 
God cannot make perfect character? When? By 
whom? Indeed, have we really tried to see what 
God could do with humanity by withdrawing our 
opposition and letting him have his way with us ? 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raises no 
question. He goes straight to the mark and says, 
"Ye shall be perfect, even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect.'' Dr. Dods says Jesus "would 
awaken in his disciples an ambition to excel. He 
does not wish his disciples to be moral mediocri- 
ties, men of average morality, but to be morally 
superior, uncommon." His followers are not to re- 
main in the valley, but to dwell on the mountain 
top. They are not to live in the shadow, but in 

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the sunshine. With him perfection is not a ques- 
tion of can or cannot; of will or will not. He 
puts it squarely before men in the form of a life — 
in deeds, not words ; in character, not profession : 
and when these things are met he says, ^'Ye shall 
be perfect.'^ He does not ask men to consider the 
liow or the when or the where of this thing. But 
to the believer he simply holds up the possibility 
and then commands that men go forward. 

Read carefully verses 38-42. What impression 
would such a man make upon the world ? Would 
he not appear as a perfect man? Would he not 
bear in a marked degree the marks of the Lord 
Jesus? And is not this the type of manhood that 
the w^orld has long been searching after? I know 
nothing is said as to his profession, nothing at all, 
and I am glad of it. For some men are poor talk- 
ers, but all men can do. And it is doing that 
makes perfection in the divine mind. Know that. 
When you have turned the ^^right cheek" to the 
man who would smite you, or given the second 
coat to the man who demanded one, and given to 
the needy, you have done Christ's service. 

Again, read verses 43-47. What words! Love 
substituted for hatred! Blessings for cursings! 
Good for evil! How Godlike that is! What a 
world to live in when that is done universally! 
It would be much like heaven, I fancy. How good 
it must sound in the ears of this world of sin! 
This is the heritage of the faithful, the opportuni- 
ties that come to those who love Jesus Christ and 
follow in his steps. 

And what is the result? What is the estimation 
in the sight of God? Simply this: ^^Ye shall be 

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X)erfect.'^ And this is the ideal life^ after all. I 
can but bid you to seek after it and strive for it. 



30. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD 

Scripture: Exod. 33. 14-17; Isa. 57. 15; John 
14.23; IJohn 1. 1-7. 

When John wrote the words, ^^Our fellowship is 
with the Father/' he was thinking of his own ex- 
I>erience and not an abstract theological principle. 
He uses the word that denotes the closest relation- 
ship we can predict of man with man. What does 
he imply by writing that man has fellowship with 
God? 

The first implication is that God and man are 
fundamentally alike in nature. Man is related to 
God not merely as created thing to creator. They 
hold things in common. God's sphere of interest 
not only borders upon that of man, it coincides 
with it. One is not simply passive and the other 
active. Each, out of his own being, contributes 
to the life of the other. 

Only beings of like nature can "fellowship" with 
one another. A dog may be loved and trusted, but 
a father can fellowship with his child. A tree may 
stand, admired by passing generations ; the mem- 
bers of a family weep and laugh together. The 
reason is apparent: that boy has his father's na- 
ture; those children resemble each other in dis- 
position as well as in outward appearance. If we 
can fellowship with God it is because we are par- 
takers of the divine nature. 

It follows that the one way to approach God is 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

by seeking to develop our latent likeness to him. 
The builders of the tower of Babel were mistaken. 
Heaven is not found by climbing up somewhere. 
Heaven is Godlikeness; hell is estrangement from 
God. Geography is not our chief concern, it is 
moral latitude and longitude. 

The approach for fellowship is from God's side, 
mark that. He comes to us. Otherwise we could 
never know him. But we must not think of the 
incarnation of Jesus as God's only coming. Ever 
since the first going away of the first transgressor 
God has been trying to find man. Isaiah suggests 
a reason why "the One that inhabiteth eternity, 
whose name is Holy/' seeks to dwell "with him 
also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.'^ 

Fellowship gives us the "vision of God" — that 
is, the power to see things as God sees them. 
Think what this means. We partake of the quality 
of his mind. As we have fellowship with God we 
shall see as he sees — humanity; the social prob- 
lems that confront us; our work; its success or 
failure; wealth; poverty; the griefs that stagger 
us. "My presence shall go with thee, and I will 
give thee rest" — rest from the evil results of see- 
ing things with a merely human and limited 
vision. When we get his view we shall change our 
emphasis. Do we really want to see from God's 
viewpoint? Are we willing to pay the price of 
giving up our old ideas? Why are there so many 
partnerships in the business world? What 
strength is suggested when the young traveling 
salesman quotes "the firm" ! 

Social isolation endangers intellectual growth. 
Spiritual isolation is moral suicide. Communion 

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with God gives not only the vision of God, but 
ethical motives as well. To see what to do is one 
thing; to try to do it is also essential. 

By fellowship we become Godlike. This truth 
should thrill every soul. Nothing else is so im- 
portant. Godliness is inalienable wealth. Char- 
acter is indestructible. In the universe in which 
we live its worth will eventually be recognized. 
The reward of godliness is more intimate fellow- 
ship with God. Higher attainment means greater 
joy. No joy excels that which is founded upon 
the sense of becoming more like our King. This 
is life's supreme quest. Obedience to his word 
has this great reward: *^We will come unto him 
and make our abode with him.'^ 



31. HOW DAVID ESCAPED FRETFULNESS 

Scripture : Psa. 37. 1-7. 

It is probable that this psalm was written in 
the latter part of David's life. Israel was in- 
creasing in prosperity. Some people were becom- 
ing wealthy. Many others were remaining in com- 
parative poverty. These latter were looking with 
jealous eyes at those who were more prosperous — 
and especially when the prosperous people were 
'^evildoers," "workers of iniquity." 

It is not easy for a good man to keep his eyes 
constantly on his more prosperous neighbors who 
are unrighteous, and to think constantly on his 
own lack of prosperity while he is trying to be 
good, without cultivating something of restless- 
ness that eventuates in worry and fretting. This 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

aspect of life is growing in America. To such 
fretters David sang this psalm. It may be called 
God's recipe for the cure of worry and fretting. 

The word ^'fret" is connected, in root, with the 
fretting leprosy that permeates the blood and 
arouses in the body ^^a burning ill humor and con- 
suming fretfulness.'' This, in the body, is terrible, 
but when the fretting leprosy is a burning ill 
humor and consuming fretfulness in the mind, 
heart, and soul, what rest, what peace, what pleas- 
ure can there be? 

Matthew Henry says that ^^fretfulness and 
worry are sins that are their own punishment. 
They are the uneasiness of the spirit and the 
rottenness of the bones." 

Fretting is often caused by comparing our cir- 
cumstances with those of others. It is forgotten 
that ''a man's life does not consist in the abun- 
dance of the things he possesses." While posses- 
sions may not be harmful in themselves, they are 
not the real food that feeds men's souls. Nor are 
they the things that bring abiding comfort. So 
the psalmist would turn the eyes of all who fret 
and worry about worldly prosperity to the things 
that make for present and eternal peace. 

First of all he would turn their vision to Je- 
hovah. ^Trust in Jehovah." Is it not more than 
the things of earth, or the men who are but for a 
day? Hath he not the wealth of the world in his 
hands? Luther when dying said to his children, 
^^Riches I do not leave you, but I leave you a rich 
God." 

And still, this is not to be a careless, inactive 
trust. "Trust in Jehovah" is followed by an ex- 

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hortation : ^^Dwell in the land'' — be satisfied where 
you are and make the best of your conditions — 
^^and feed thyself on faithfulness." 

'^Delight thyself also in Jehovah/' A character 
may safely be judged by the nature of its delights. 
Some Christians seek their delights, their happy 
hours, in worldly things, and give to Jehovah a 
grudging duty. 

^^Commit thy way unto Jehovah/' let him direct 
thy paths, and thy righteousness which is now in 
the darkness of night shall go up as the sun in its 
rising, and thy night shall shine as the noonday. 

^^Rest in Jehovah," or, '^Be still in Jehovah." 
Enter into that perfect calm of resignation that 
leaves itself absolutely in the hands of God. ^'To 
be still before the Lord is the true test." 

But there is another ingredient in this divine 
cure for fretting. We must "do good." If we 
trust in Jehovah we must enter into the life of 
Jehovah, and Jehovah's life is a life of ministry. 
He is the eternal minister. We see Jehovah's life 
in Jesus, who "went about doing good." The full- 
ness of joy which he found in "doing good" will 
banish the last remains of worry and fretting. 

"Trust in Jehovah, and do good." So shall the 
devil of worry leave thy heart, and the "burning ill 
humor" of fretfulness be driven out of thy life. 



32. PETER'S CALL AND COMMISSION 

Scripture: Matt. 4. 17-20. 

The Man. Peter's humanness makes him a very 
helpful character to study. If he could become a 

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good Christian anyone can. Naturally impulsive 
(John 18, 10, 11), often weak (Matt. 26. 57-75), 
quick to make promises of loyalty which were 
soon forgotten, overconfident (Luke 22. 3f.), con- 
fessedly sinful (Luke 5. 8), unlearned, not alto- 
gether perfect even after Pentecost (Gal. 2. 11-21), 
he was a composite of frail and blundering human 
nature such as we know it to be. 

But remember "the fighting chance.'' Read 
Foss's "Keep a Tryin'.'' It is really true that 

"If only we strive to be pure and true, 
To each of us there wiH come an hour 
When the tree of life shall burst into flower. 
And rain at our feet a glorious dower 
Of something grander than ever we knew." 

The trying must be commensurate with the weak- 
ness. To begin at the bottom of the ladder may 
be no disgrace, but to remain there, even though 
there is a high climb ahead of us, is inexcusable. 

Chrisfs Call. He sees not as man seeth. He 
beholds, beyond the frailties of human nature, the 
qualities and possibilities of a man, through divine 

grace. 

"All I could never be. 
All men ignored in me. 
This I was worth to God, whose wheel the pitcher 
shaped." 

He saw Peter's good-heartedness, sincerity, aggres- 
siveness. He knew he would make a great 
preacher, a leader of men, a winner of souls. The 
Gospel of Mark is really the transcription of 
Peter's gospel, swift as an arrow, rugged as a 
Galilean hill. He was the first to declare Christ's 
divinity. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Note Peter's instantaneous consecration to 
Jesus's call. "Follow me" is the secret of his 
greatness. But in that remarkable incident there 
is a factor not to be overlooked. It was Andrew 
who brought about an acquaintance of his brother 
Peter with the Messiah (John 1. 35-42) . The glory 
of personal work and its importance never had a 
finer illustration than this. Most men are won, 
one by one. It was a Kimball who brought a 
Moody to Christ. 

"Follow me'' is the supreme ideal of living and 
achievement. "Come and suffer for the ideal" 
has a majestic appeal for men, the Epicurean to 
the contrary, notwithstanding. 

The Commission. There is no loftier calling 
than winning men. This summons comes equally 
to minister and layman, though in slightly differ- 
ent ways. "Each in his own sphere," "with only 
the Master to praise us, and only the Master to 
blame." 

The methods, "luck," and sacrifices of fisher- 
men all illustrate the experiences of personal 
workers. The bait must be suited to the fish. 
"Herring nets will not catch smelts." The catfish 
will bite at a worm ; the bass, a shrimp ; the cod, a 
clam; but the speckled trout takes a cast of the 
fly and a skillful play of the line. Fishers of men 
must have resourcefulness, tact, persistence, clean 
hands, pure hearts, and love — enduring love for 
men. 

After a man has been won he must be welcomed 
by the church or he is sure to die, spiritually. "A 
man converted and entering a cold church is like 
a baby thrown into a snowdrift/' 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Suggestion: Use the above theme as one of a 
short series under the title, "Pages from Peter's 
Passion/' Advertise such topics as these: "His 
Call and Commission/' "His Great Confession'^ 
(Matt. 16. 13-20), "The Denial" (Matt. 26. 69-75), 
"The Master's Questions" (John 21. 15-19), "His 
Sermon at Pentecost" (Acts 2), "His Vision "(Acts 
10). To increase the attendance, announce a 
given number — fifty, one hundred, or one hundred 
and fifty — as a goal and ask all to help attain it. 
Take one great hymn each week. Ask all to com- 
mit it to memory. Ask for volunteers to repeat 
the hymn of the evening ; then sing it. 



33. SELP-JUDGMENT UNDER GOSPEL 
GRACE 

Scripture: 2 Cor. 13. 5; 1 Cor. 11. 31; 4. 3, 4. 

The child's place in the Father's family rests 
solely on the Father's love. It is only because he 
first loved us. Therefore our relation to him 
should be one of glad trust, noti of fear or anxious 
care. The Father's perfect love would cast out 
our fear. He calls us his children. This most 
blessed station is ours not because we are good, 
but because God is good. Stronger than sin and 
death is the love of God. We have only to accept 
it freely and keep ourselves in it. 

The gift of God's Son is the pledge of God's 
purpose to make us like his Son. And since like- 
ness to Christ is our goal, it is necessary that we 
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour (2 Pet. 3. 18). But Christ has taught us 

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that growth is not the result of anxious thought ; 
it comes of life. No man by taking thought can 
add one cubit to his stature, either physically or 
spiritually. Moreover, it is not only useless, it is 
even fatal, to be too much watching our symptoms 
or feeling our pulse. Such conduct is born of dis- 
trust of the Father's goodness. All this anxious 
thought is a contradiction of the gospel principle 
of quiet assurance. 

On the other hand, it is possible to receive God's 
grace in vain. While no thought or will of ours 
can create life or cause growth, yet it is for us to 
use the grace that brings salvation. There is no 
spiritual growth without a thoughtful attention 
to that which God would teach us. While we 
should be as free from anxious care as the lilies 
of the field, yet we are under an infinitely higher 
law of life than they. We live by the word of 
God; and our having that word in our hearts de- 
pends not only upon its having come to our ears, 
but also upon our having opened our hearts to re- 
ceive it. Rightly to use the grace of God — this is 
the art of living. To be ever measuring our 
growth is a sad distrust of his free grace. 

Longing, expectant, and adoring faith refuses 
to admire self or to rest in past attainments. The 
Bride will not gaze on her own fair garments, but 
on the dear Bridegroom's face. In his light we see 
light. Knowing him, and hearing the call to fol- 
low him and be like him, we must also in his light 
seek to know ourselves. 

And when we come to examine ourselves in the 
light of his countenance, there shall, by his grace, 
be no thought of excusing or of commending our- 

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selves, but only the desire and the prayer that the 
Searcher of hearts shall show us what we are in 
order that we may become what we ought to be — 
like Christ. Only in the light of his countenance 
can there be any fruitful self-examination. For 
Christ's revelation of our sin is never without the 
revelation of his abundant grace. 

Pitiable is the man who justifies himself. 
Happy the man who, knowing and confessing his 
sin, flies for help to God. Hungering and thirst- 
ing after God's righteousness, the pardoned and 
now trusting child is ^^careful without care," and, 
rejoicing in a sure hope, he ^^purifieth himself even 
as he is pure." Some one has well remarked : ^'I 
scarcely know a more comforting word in the 
Scripture than this of Saint Paul's : ^If we would 
judge ourselves we should not be judged.' " For 
the Christian's self-judgment is really not his own, 
but God's. In the deeper, larger sense the Lord 
only is our Judge. Let us pray that his word, 
like a refiner's fire, may purge away our dross. 
Hapx)y are we if we so judge ourselves that we be 
not condemned. 

"My needs and thy desires 

Are all in thee complete; 
Thou hast the justice truth requires. 
And I thy mercy sweet.'* 



34. OUR CITIZENSHIP 

Scripture : Eph. 2. 11-22. 

Everybody appreciates citizenship. Hardly can 
a man be found (outside of Edward Everett Hale's 

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"The Man Without a Country'') who does not ap- 
preciate his country and that for which his coun- 
try stands. Patriotism is a noble impulse and to 
be admired in men wherever found. We somehow 
feel that a man w^ith the real spirit of patriotism 
burning within his breast is a safe man. I heard 
a man who has served many terms upon the bench 
in the central West say recently that in all of his 
years upon the bench he had never been compelled 
to sentence an old soldier to the penitentiary or 
the workhouse. It impressed me as being rather 
remarkable. The man who loves his country is a 
safe man. 

Saint Paul made good use of the fact of his 
citizenship at the time of his arrest in Jerusalem 
at the close of his third missionary journey. It 
saved him from a severe flogging and gave to him 
rights and privileges that nothing else could have 
done. The wonder is that he did not use the same 
means at Lystra and Philippi and in many other 
places. 

To a missionary in a very hostile land, it 
seemed, at times, as though destruction were 
inevitable. His work was interfered with. His 
property was threatened. Finally he resorted to 
the "flag.'' He would draw from his pocket the 
Stars and Stripes, and then he felt that he had 
security and defense and protection. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul makes 
much use of the fact of citizenship. Bead the 
nineteenth verse of the second chapter, "Now 
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, 
but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the 
household of God.'' What citizenship ! We ought 

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to make much more of it than we do. It is our 
defense and security. 

The psalmist said, ^^He that dwelleth in the 
secret place of the Most High shall abide under 
the shadow of the Almighty.'^ How secure is that 
^^abiding'^! The fact that we are no longer 
^^strangers and foreigners" helps us in this world. 
It defends us against many temptations. It 
shields us in hours of trial. It defends us from 
evil. 

Two ministers were crossing the continent. One 
decided that he would not allow his profession to 
become known, while the other made his calling 
known among the travelers. To the man hiding 
his profession came repeated solicitations to play 
cards, drink wine, and many other worldly follies. 
The other was shielded from all of this. His pro- 
fession was his defense and security. 

A deaconess once said to me, ^^Sometimes I get 
so tried of wearing this little bonnet and these 
white strings, but it is my only defense in my 
work." And it was true. She could go with that 
emblem of service anywhere and be safe, and with- 
out it she would have been exposed to the most 
shameful insults. Make much of your citizenship, 
friends; it is your defense and security. Many 
have failed because they did not allow it to be 
known that they were ^^fellow citizens with the 
saints." That fact would have protected them 
against temptations that were greater than their 
strength. Sometimes people carry church letters 
and do not allow their relations to Christ to be- 
come known, and often lose their influence because 
they have not made much of their citizenship. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Citizenship is deliverance. The psalmist said, 
^^I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and deliv- 
ered me from all my fears." What a deliverer we 
have! ^^He took me out of the horrible pit and 
the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock." There 
is our strength. The strongest of us is not very 
strong at times. We need a deliverer, else the 
Father would not have sent Jesus into the world. 
We are of his household. 



35. PEOPLE THAT CANNOT BE SPARED 

Scripture : Matt. 5. 13 ; Luke 14. 34. 

Salt Suggests a Standard. Many ancient peo- 
ples used it as money. A Thibetan tribe still press 
it into cubes and stamp it for common circulation 
as currency. ^^Salary'' comes from the old custom 
of giving a salariiim, or ^^salt money,'' to a vic- 
torious general. It was once among Orientals the 
standard of value, as gold is with us. We ought 
to clearly define goodness. It is our place to put 
into flesh the language of Christ's kingdom. We 
are to illustrate and stand for ultimate righteous- 
ness. Honesty will be unalloyed. Sincerity will 
be above suspicion. The heart and hands will be 
white. Industry will be regular. The world ex- 
pects the ^^church member" to live the highest. 
All deeds grade down from him. 

Salt Must Have Contact, It is not used for 
isolated exhibition. We must bring our goodness 
into touch with brothers. When an Arab eats salt 
with one it is pledge of protection and service even 
unto giving his life. John MacGregor fooled a 

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murderous Arab chief by offering him a white 
powder looking like sugar. It wa^ salt, and the 
chief had to send a safe-conduct guard. When we 
stand before the world as a Christian we proclaim 
ourselves as every man's friend. We must then 
live it. Loyalty is vital. Revengefulness is de- 
tested. Bitterness is impossible. Deceit and 
Judasishness are foreign to it. We become true- 
hearted brothers. Our profession pledges us to be 
Jesus-like in that respect. We must be patient, 
gentle, and helpful, a worthy and dependable 
friend. 

Salt Preserves. Meat is kept from spoiling with 
a brine. A wound calls all the salt from the 
excretions to save putrefaction. It is claimed that 
Asiatic cholera occurs because natives have too 
little salt in their blood. We must warn against 
sin. Picture its hellish purpose. Shame the sin- 
ner by letting him see his soiled life by contrast 
with our white one. We must keep recalling 
truths so that the sinner cannot ignore them. 

Salt Revives. Drowned flies covered with salt 
will recover. One experimenter claims thus to 
have restored cats and dogs. Saline solutions are 
now indispensable in hospitals. The Salvation 
Army is saving suicides. Drunkards are driven 
to desperation by their helplessness. We must 
carry cheering hope with a sympathetic hand. 
We must pour out Christ's love through our own 
until real life returns. We must both arouse and 
soothe. 

Salt Feeds. It is absolutely indispensable. A 
pigeon lives but three months, and a dog six, with- 
out it. It sets free elements needed by the soil. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

No righteousness is possible without Christ's gos- 
pel. How shall they hear without a preacher? 
We are his ambassadors. Our personality must 
make people hungry. We must know the Master 
so that our fingers get manna direct. 

Salt Ohtainahle. Saltiness is within reach. 
Luke declares savor comes from self-sacrifice. 
Matthew implies the same. If we lose ourselves 
in serving with the Servant of Nazareth we will 
be sweet and strong. Where two are gathered in 
his name he is in the midst. Let us count as the 
^^salt of the earth." 



I 



36. PAUL'S LETTER TO PHILEMON 

Scripture: Philemon. 

This letter was not intended by the writer for 
the instruction of the churches, and may be 
marked ^^personal"; but believers have claimed 
it as a priceless bit of literature revealing the 
heart of the gospel and laden with lessons for all 
— another illustration of the importance of the 
incidental. A runaway slave had hunted up the 
guest of his former master and by him was led to 
Christ. Paul wrote from his prison in Rome to 
tell the master that his slave had been found, and 
to beg him to take him back as a brother. He be- 
gins his letter with greetings to the household 
of Philemon and to the church meeting there. The 
"sister Apphia" was probably the wife of Philemon, 
and Archippus the minister of the church in the 
house. Paul recalls the joys of former hospitality 
shown, commends the good deeds of his host, and 

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assures him that he prays for him every day. 
Paul's great heart and good sense helped him to 
commend and encourage without falling into flat- 
tery. Paul tactfully pleads for the returned 
slave; says he could have kept him as a helper 
with great advantage, but would not do so without 
the master's consent. He knew that the greatest 
power is not shown by people who demand all 
their rights. 

Paul appeals to economic motives: Onesimus 
was worth more than he used to be. A converted 
and honest slave is worth more than an uncon- 
verted and dishonest slave. What is the gospel 
worth to the world in dollars? How does the 
gospel multiply values? How does the gospel 
prevent waste of resources — ^vital, commercial, 
national ? Can we secure the highest work of so- 
cial service through legislation? Can true civic 
righteousness come through unregenerate human 
nature? How can we secure the right motive in 
our legislative and executive officers? The gospel 
begets the true sense of brotherhood in man and 
obligates him to study the best methods of help- 
ing his brother. What do we owe to helpers in the 
home, the office, or the factory? What help is 
there in the gospel for employers who are Chris- 
tians but lack in judgment, tact, and knowledge 
of the right in the matter? 

Surely no employer can be blind to the duty of 
acting always as a Christian gentleman. Onesi- 
mus seems to have found grace to overcome his 
natural class prejudice. How much of the social 
discontent of to-day can be traced to the envy of 
the more prosperous by the less prosperous? One- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

simus was a child of the King as truly as Phile- 
mon. Grace alone can give a true sense of supe- 
riority to the difference in dollars between man 
and man. 

We cannot give specific rules for each case, but 
grace in the heart will create the sense of obliga- 
tion to seek the right and fair division of privi- 
leges and property. If two thousand workmen 
in a factory are genuinely changed in heart they 
will as Christians continue to seek to secure laws 
which will give equal opportunity to all, but in 
the meantime they will deal fairly, work faith- 
fully, develop every talent, shun violence, and 
treat all men as brothers. 

Onesimus had a new sense of his own worth 
after he found how much Paul loved him and how 
Christ loved him. God uses human love to assure 
of divine love. Such words as "my very heart,'' 
and '^receive him as myself," came out of a genuine 
affection in Paul which the poor runaway slave 
and thief could feel. Our best help to the man 
who is down is to love him into self-respect. We 
must see his worth as Jesus saw it if we would 
love him and help him. Zacchaeus, the grafter, 
got a new view of himself when Jesus dined with 
him and talked the matter over. He became a 
genuine and generous convert, and to this day he 
witnesses for the power of Christ to inspire true 
manhood. Imagine the thoughts of Onesimus 
when he heard his name read out in church as the 
bearer with Tychicus of the letter to Colossse — 
"Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who 
is one of you'' (Col. 4. 7-9). He was a coworker 
with the great apostle in Rome. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Suggestion : One week in advance give out ques- 
tions dealing with the social, economic, and re- 
ligious aspects of this incident. 



37. GRACE ACCORDING TO CAPACITY 

Scripture: 2 Kings 4. 1-7. 

Here is a magnificent account of the goodness 
of God. A man may have no capacity for music 
or art, and still be normal, but God created every 
man with a capacity for himself. We are told 
that he is far more anxious to give to us than we 
are to receive. That our capacity to receive has 
much to do with our receiving can be seen in the 
beatitude: "Blessed are they that do hunger 
and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be 
filled"; not fed, but filled — are to receive all they 
can contain. In the parable of the talents there 
was given to each man "according to his ca- 
pacity." Now, there is no use asking for a thing 
for which there is no capacity. We often ask for 
God's presence. I long since have quit that; I 
now ask for the open eye to see and a larger heart 
to receive. 

God is looking for men who have room in their 
lives for him. Years ago Henry Varley said to 
D. L. Moody, "Moody, God is waiting for a man 
that will give himself up entirely to show this old 
world what he can do with him." Mr. Moody 
replied, "Then I am his man." Moody made 
room, and God filled it. The prophet particularly 
instructed the widow, "Borrow not a few." If 
God doesn't use men it is because they make no 

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room for him. He made them for himself. To see 
depends upon the will as well as upon the eyes. 

God is prodigal in nature; flowers bloom where 
eyes never see them, gold and diamonds lie where 
they have never been discovered, but he gives grace 
only as we have capacity for it. Some people 
have been praying for power, but have never used 
what they now have, and God does not waste his 
gifts. Some people ask for dying grace long be- 
fore they need it, and then wonder why God does 
not bless them. It does not matter how much 
steam you have in your boiler, you can heat a 
room only according to the radiation. 

Our helpfulness depends on our capacity to re- 
ceive. How can we give what we have not re- 
ceived? We can't describe what we have not seen. 
The reason Phillips Brooks was such a benedic- 
tion is because he was such a reservoir of the 
grace of God. Men and women are attracted to 
the fullness of God. Put a John the Baptist in the 
wilderness and the city will go to him. This prin- 
ciple is true of churches as well as of individuals, 
because individuals make the church. Many 
churches have very little room for God. They are 
too much absorbed with their own dignity, eccle- 
siastical polity, machinery, or glory. Gordon's 
dream, ^^When Christ Came to Church," is true of 
many of our churches. The greatest reputation 
that a church can have is to be known as a place 
where men can find God always. 

When Jesus went out to select men to do his 
work he didn't go to the schools at Jerusalem for 
men with large capacities for learning, but rather 
to the lakeside to find men with large capacities 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETIKG HELPS 

for God. '^Do you love me?'' is what he asked 
Peter. These disciples, with their one, all-absorb- 
ing story, attracted the attention of the learned 
as well as of their fellow fishermen. The world 
listens attentively to a whole-hearted message. 
The one who has received grace according to ca- 
pacity feels that the sacred communication is not 
of him but through him. He is in the hands of 
God. The grace of the Almighty finds no obstruc- 
tions within the range of the disciple's personality. 



38. DOES GOD SPEAK TO MEN TO-DAY AS 
HE DID TO THE MEN OF LONG AGO? 

Scripture : Acts 18. 9 ; Num. 6. 1 ; 1 Kings 5. 5. 

The statement that God spake to Abraham, 
Moses, David, Paul, and many others occurs quite 
frequently in the Bible. And what does ^'spake" 
mean? If you had been near would you have 
heard it ? Did God need to make the vocal sounds 
which with us stand for ideas? What is the es- 
sential matter when we speak to each other ; is it 
not the conveying of the thought, the ideas? 
Words are necessary for us. They are a vehicle 
or medium more or less imperfect, as our frequent 
misunderstandings show. The essential matter 
when God ^^spake" was this, that he conveyed his 
thought, feelings, and will to the minds of those 
to whom he spake. 

Did you ever ask why God spake to only a few, 
or even one man in each age — to a chosen few 
only? Certainly not because he had favorites. 
There can be but one reason — these lived nearer 

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to him. And by "nearer/' of course, we mean in 
closer personal relation of the spirit. They were 
spiritually nearer to God, through their love and 
obedience. This gave them a spiritual sensitive- 
ness far beyond their fellows. 

Does God speak to men to-day? Of course we 
answer yes ; he speaks many things in nature. But 
does he speak in the inward personal life of the 
individual? My fellow disciples, there are many 
reasons to believe that he does. And if you and 
I cannot speak out of the richness of our spiritual 
experience to confirm this, surely we ought not 
to speak out of the poverty of our spiritual ex- 
perience to deny it. And yet we are so schooled 
to-day in the scientific spirit, even in regard to 
the Christian life, that no merely emotional or 
mystical experience will pass unchallenged. When 
we say we know we shall be asked to show how. 
We cannot avoid the moral test for all spiritual 
experiences. "By their fruits,'' said the Master. 

There are many men and women to-day whose 
lives are so devoted and whose hearts so pure that 
they know God at first hand as Christ said they 
should. It is a matter of love, loyalty, and obe- 
dience to God and the superior spiritual sensitive- 
ness resulting from these. 

Here are two sets of wireless apparatus, one 
sensitive to waves within a radius of fifty miles, 
the other much more finely constructed and deli- 
cately adjusted and sensitive within a circle of 
three thousand miles. Imagine these personal, 
and do you not see that the second will catch 
many messages which are impossible to the first ? 

Yes, it is a matter of our soul-sensitiveness to- 

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ward God. Our Divine SouPs Spirit was perfectly 
sensitive. His loyalty to his Father was absolute. 
And how very near he found God, always! He 
calls us to follow him. 



39. THE LEAVEN IN THE MEAL 

Scripture: Matt. 13. 33. 

Our Master tells us that the kingdom of heaven 
is like leaven which a woman took and hid in the 
meal until the whole was leavened. This word 
^^leaven" is the only word which I know of the 
Master's using which suggests our modern thought 
of the enormous power and vitality of the microbe. 
We do no great violence to Christ's thought when 
we say that the kingdom of heaven is like those 
minute forms of life which, awakened at the start, 
multiply with inconceivable rapidity until the 
mass of society is transformed. Christ claims the 
hidden force of the leaven as a beneficial force. 
When we think of the microscopic forms of life 
round us we experience something of dread. 
There is an element of the appalling in the pres- 
ence of an unsuspected agent, which we cannot 
see, but which multiplies a millionfold overnight. 
Christ, however, claimed this agent as a symbol 
of the vitality of the kingdom. Let the good 
thought but drop into life and it has the power 
to multiply its strength a millionfold overnight. 
The power of increase is not merely on the side of 
evil any more than all the germs are of diphtheria 
and tuberculosis. The power is that of the leaven 
which lifts the dough into bread. The unnoticed 

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thoughts and half thoughts come into our life 
through the blessed Spirit ; they multiply them- 
selves again and again till they emerge as definite 
aspirations and resolutions, taking the heavy and 
inert massiveness of the life and lifting it into 
wholesomeness and palatableness. 



40. GOD'S HELP IN TEMPORAL ANXIETIES 

Scripture: Luke 12. 22-31. 

The Christian in a World of Care. Few prob- 
lems are more familiar in our homes than those 
which have to do with temporal anxieties. These 
are a part of the divine discipline of character. 
We live in a world of care. Whoever we may be 
or whatever our beliefs, there are three necessities 
no one of us may ignore: the need for food, for 
clothing, for shelter. Lift these burdens and 
thousands of hearts would be lightened. Multi- 
tudes live but a day from need. Sudden misfor- 
tune would threaten most of us. Care is the lurk- 
ing shadow in the morrow's thought. We forget 
that this world is our Father's world and that we 
are in a Father's care. 

The Cause of Care. Care is essentially distrust 
of God, and therefore a spiritual problem. It 
arises from the division of our allegiance between 
God and Mammon, or from the mistaken view of 
life which counts its value by the things possessed. 
It cannot be cured by the removal of the material 
need. That may relieve the care but cannot cure 
its cause. Religion's problem is the cure of 
anxiety. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Tlie Doctrine of Providence. The doctrine of 
Providence underlies all of Jesus's teaching. He 
opposed care with trust in a heavenly Father. He 
everywhere recognized the reality of need. The 
body must be fed and clothed and cared for, but 
outside the circle of need there is another circle, 
that of providing love — ^^your Father knoweth ye 
have need of these things.'^ 

Nature's Lesson of Trust. Drummond once said 
that man's dullness to the truth in his own life 
led Jesus to point out the secret of true living by 
means of the companion phenomena of the birds 
and of the flowers. God's care for the flowers is 
a rebuke to his children's feverish anxieties con- 
cerning their own wants. The Providence of the 
field is the all-wise, loving Father of human life. 
Life's seasons are of his planning. 

Complementary Providences. Faith does not 
promise food and raiment without forethought. 
Man's providence must supplement that of God. 
A world in which there was no sense of necessity 
or of impending future could not be a moral world. 
We are disciplined by our necessities, but we are 
exalted by our dependence upon God. The great- 
est material successes attend those who most 
nearly approach God's relation to man. He who 
seeks first the kingdom of God cannot be unmind- 
ful of man's cares and needs. He will do what he 
can to supply the demand for food, shelter, and 
clothing. The world rewards any real service. 
Man's great problem is to be of as great service as 
possible to the world — to supply real needs. God 
does that in the spirit of righteousness. He who, 
in this spirit, seeks to supply mankind with cloth- 

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ing will himself be well clothed. Food, raiment, 
shelter, all these things will be added unto him 
who seeks, like God, to serve man. 

The Higher Purpose. Jesus' solution for the 
problem of care is the removal of its anxiety, but 
not of the necessity of foresight and provision. 
These fall in the field of human providence. But 
this providence is more than the mere provision 
for earthly wants. It is the providence of re- 
ligious faith and should be directed toward higher 
than earthly blessings. Life purposes something 
higher than the mere care of a body. To spend a 
lifetime in such cares alone is to miss our reason 
for being, God's purpose in putting us here. God 
will care for these lesser needs. They are a part 
of his program, but the supreme quest of life is 
the satisfaction of those needs of the soul which 
only our trust and abiding in his friendship can 
give. 

41. THE MESSAGE OF A FIRST-CENTURY 
PREACHER 

Scripture: Titus 2. 11-14. 

1. The Universality of Salvation. No one is too 
low or too far removed to be included in the sav- 
ing purpose of God. "Enough for each, enough 
for all, enough for evermore," is the slogan of 
Christianity. It is important that the increasing 
emphasis upon childhood salvation should not be- 
come a temptation to spiritual laziness, prompt- 
ing us to follow the line of least resistance, and 
to do the easy thing to the exclusion of tackling 
the "hardt cases." Recent magazine articles on the 

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spiritual unrest show that the outside observer is 
still mightily impressed by adult conversions. It 
is not finite prudence, but infinite wisdom, that 
has planned the salvation of the race. The ele- 
ment of chance and possible failure is not found 
in the divine purpose. The grace of God, not the 
shrewdness of man, has appeared bringing salva- 
tion to all. 

2. The Purpose of Salvation. This is nothing 
more nor less than righteousness, and this right- 
eousness is a very deep and thoroughgoing sort of 
thing. It has to do not only with the deeds, but 
also with the desires, of men. It is worth while 
to note here the apostolic emphasis upon sins of 
the spirit. The man who is guiltless of impurity, 
gambling, drunkenness, and profanity may still 
be a long ways ofif from God. Avarice, envy, jeal- 
ousy, ambition, and vindictiveness are just as bad 
in the eyes of God as are the sins of the flesh. 
Righteousness is more than respectability. The 
fear of being found out does not determine its 
boundaries. The joy and spontaneity of absolute 
sincerity is its glory. 

3. The Affinity for the Eternal. Hutton says 
of Goethe, ^The earth was eloquent to him, but 
the skies were silent.'' A great French skeptic 
died with the words upon his lips, ^^I am going to 
meet the Great Perhaps.'' That is one attitude to 
take. The other is indicated by Paul's word to 
the Philippians: ^^Our citizenship is in heaven." 
Abraham went forth ^^looking for a city which 
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is 
God." The early Hebrews, in general, showed by 
their actions ^^that they were strangers and pil- 



PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

grims on the earth/' and were ^^seeking after a 
country of their own.'' But while the Christian 
is to regard Jesus Christ as inextricably inter- 
twined with his daily life and to look for his 
coming in power, it should be noticed that this 
is not his chief or only occupation. Men are not 
to disesteem this present goodly world, nor are 
they to forego working for the sake of waiting. 
They are simply to act on earth in the spirit of 
heaven — to do on earth the will of Him whose 
word, obeyed, is the foundation of the celestial 
society. 

4. The Completeness of Salvation. The end of 
all seems to be a society of pure people whose 
works speak for them. The value of such a so- 
ciety in the eyes of God is indicated by the meas- 
ures he took to secure it. People are to be saved 
from all iniquity. Why not? The patient in the 
hospital after an operation who is not saved from 
all blood-poisoning is in a bad way. When a pris- 
oner is acquitted by a jury he does not inquire 
into the extent of the acquittance. Jesus came 
to the world to tell men in a hundred ways that 
sin was not necessary. We should all be better 
off if we had less discussion of the theory of sancti- 
flcation and more illustration of the thing itself. 
Sanctification is simply separation, and that sep- 
aration does not lie in dress, manners, language, 
or any external thing, but is expressed in the 
spirit, purpose, attitude, and will of the individual 
himself. He needs the world as the sphere where- 
in to cultivate this spirit. A peculiar zealousness 
of good works gives wholesomeness to God's com- 
pleted work of individual salvation. 

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42. THE PATTERN ON THE MOUNT 

Scripture: Heb. 8. 

There is a lesson of importance in these words, 
for we all have tasks similar to that given Moses. 
We too are called to build temples to Jehovah, 
holy shrines in which his presence may fitly dwell. 

Moses needed a model after which to build the 
tabernacle ; we also need a pattern after w^hich to 
build our lives. Every great work begins in a 
vision. Men without illuminating hours, moun- 
tain-top experiences, have had no message for 
their age. Plan precedes performance. We might 
build a sty or a shed without an architect, but if 
we are to erect a castle we want blueprints and 
specifications. So he who would build a great 
character must first have it pictured on the walls 
of the soul. 

As God had a model for the tabernacle, so he 
has a pattern for every life. Ideals are but tran- 
scripts of the divine mind. Visions are only illu- 
mined moments w^hen for a time we catch the 
divine thought. God does not forget the needs and 
welfare of individual men but plans the detail of 
every life. ^^He calleth his sheep by name, and 
leadeth them out." Indeed, if God is omniscient 
he cannot create a soul without a vision of the 
end at the beginning. God must think of each 
soul and the work it is to do when he plans for 
the education and perfection of humanity. 

The pattern of God for our lives can be known. 
It is in part revealed in the physical and moral 
laws under which he has constituted us. God's 
laws are simply expressions of his will, or his 

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plans being put into execution. They are as much 
his voice as the words spoken to Moses on the 
mountj telling him how to build. To break a 
physical or moral law is to ride full tilt against 
the plans and will of God. Our constitutional 
aptitudes are also disclosures of God's pur- 
poses. Gifts are indicative of duties. Men's 
endowments in a measure determine their work 
and place. But there are also moments of in- 
spiration when, instead of looking at the matter- 
of-fact detail of life, men have direct and imme- 
diate vision of the heaven-made blueprints. Min- 
isters do not have a monopoly upon clear calls to 
life-long service. Moments of revelation are not 
confined to apostles and martyrs of old. Then, 
too, a general pattern has been set concretely 
before us by historical revelation. Jesus is 
the manifestation of what life should be and 
character should become. He who gazes on 
him beholds the ideal. ^^Let this mind be in you 
which was in Christ Jesus," and ^^if a man have 
not the spirit of Christ he is none of his." 

The pattern of God for our lives should be 
realized. Visions should become tasks. What we 
see on the mountain tops we should make actual 
in the valleys. Dreams are impotent unless they 
issue in deeds. Contemplation should blaze the 
way for action. Moses was to go down from the 
summit of Sinai and build. Some one has said, 
^^The history of great men is the history of their 
ideal hours realized in conduct and character." 
He who does not translate his luminous moments 
into terms of life misses the call to duty. The 
only safety is in following ^^the gleam." We must 

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build our prayer-meeting visions into to-morrow's 
character and to-morrow's service. If the inspira- 
tions which come to us in such services as these, 
if the glimpses of duty we get here, if the deep 
longings for a better life which are developed in 
our prayers, if the illuminations of our best mo- 
ments are made the purposes and efforts of our 
lives, then we shall build worthily, and life, even 
in the valley, will reflect God's thought. 



43. THE GIANTS AND THE GRAPES 

Scripture : Num. 13 and 14 ; Josh. 14. 6-14. 

Giants vs. GrassJioppers, Caleb saw that the 
giants were big, but he had a faith in God which 
made him feel bigger. So he and Joshua made a 
strong report in favor of immediate occupation of 
the land. But they were in the minority. The 
people were panic-stricken when they heard of 
^'the giants in the land," and clamored for a re- 
treat to Egypt. But Caleb made a ringing speech 
for the advance, and he did it in the face of 
cowards who threatened to batter him to the 
ground with stones. The secret of Caleb's fidelity 
in the face of such odds was that ^^he had another 
spirit within him" from that of the people. 

How true is the saying, ^^At the price at which 
you rate yourself the world will usually take you, 
or a little under that price." In fact, the world 
always expects a little off. 

A Model. Caleb is the man for us: a man of 
quality, which is of more importance than quan- 
tity; a man of the minority; but one with God 

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always makes a decisive majority. This is the 
model : a full following of Jesus Christ, with the 
whole heart, and for the whole life campaign ; not 
bustle, but patience, prayer, and persevering work. 
Thoroughgoing obedience is the Christian requi- 
site. ^^There is prodigious power,'' says Dr. 
Cuyler, '^in the singleness of love for Christ; in 
doing just one thing, and that one thing a press- 
ing toward the goal of likeness to Jesus. A man 
of very moderate talents and education becomes 
a strong, influential man as soon as the Master 
gets complete control of him. . . . The choice 
Christians never commute with the Master for 
half-fare, or demand a cushioned seat in the par- 
lor car. They never send their regrets, when they 
are summoned to duty; they never interpret 
Christ's commandments in a lax way. If there is 
any doubt on any questions of ethics they never 
give self or the world the casting vote; and if the 
pinch comes they relish even the severities." 

Choosing the Mountain, When past eighty 
years old Caleb had his choice of land in Canaan, 
and the old man did not say, ^^Let me retire into 
a sheltered spot in some rich valley, for I have 
earned a release from strenuous service"; but he 
said, ^'Give me this mountain, whereof the Lord 
spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day 
how the Anakims were there, and that the cities 
were great and fenced : if so be the Lord will be 
with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, 
as the Lord said." That is just what we would 
expect of Caleb. He had gotten the habit of tack- 
ling hard jobs, and wanted to keep it up. As he 
grew older his faith grew more confident and 

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heroic. Physical powers weaken, but faith grows 
stronger. Unless we exercise our faith by follow- 
ing the Lord fully our fears will multiply with the 
years, making us more timid and pessimistic. But 
the growing Christian with the years will get 
better acquainted with God, able to see deeper 
into his grace, and become more courageous to 
undertake great things for him. 

Those Grapes. When Caleb returned with the 
spies from Canaan he not only talked optimisti- 
cally of the country and going over to possess it, 
but he brought back a big bunch of luscious grapes 
from Eshcol. If the giants were great, so ware 
the grapes. Sometimes we say, the larger the rose 
the larger the thorn; but the Christian says, the 
larger the thorn the larger the rose; the greater 
the giants the greater the grapes. 

God's verdict on Caleb's heroism and optimism 
was, ^^My servant Caleb will I bring into the land, 
who hath followed me faithfully." Well, God 
was true to his promise. Caleb was finally brought 
into the goodly land ; and — have you realized it? — 
while the cowards of the camp perished in the 
desert, courageous old Caleb lived to settle down 
in Hebron, which was located in full view of the 
vale of Eshcol, where he plucked the large cluster 
of grapes so many years before. 



44. THE SOUL'S INVENTORY 

Scripture: Psa. 26. 2. 

1. A Fall Inventory. A raindrop becomes 
easily soiled. It picks up dust and dirt. The 

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yellow, muddy ditches and creeks are the dirty 
raindrops hurrying back to the sea. On the way, 
old Mother Nature has provided, on the edges of 
the rivers, little pools for purifying the raindrops ; 
little quiet eddies outside the main current, where 
the water stands still and the sediment settles and 
the raindrops scintillate with the blending sea-blue 
and sky-blue that color the great sea. 

Our souls become so easily soiled. Agitation, 
ferment, tumult, raging, the soul becomes turbid, 
contaminated, impure, unclean. All the way back 
to the infinite sea the Father has prepared tran- 
quil hours, shadowed, serene retreats for medita- 
tion. The currents of emotion and passion may 
run strong outside, but here, this morning, sub- 
siding, purifying, clarifying, we are to catch again 
the colors of God's heaven. ^^Examine me, O Lord, 
and prove me; try my heart." 

^^To make an inventory,'' many settle down with 
a degree of satisfaction. We have been taking 
trial balances during the summer, and we know 
about what to expect. Harvests are good, busi- 
ness has been good, we have made a living, paid 
our life insurance, and put a little away. A pro- 
found respect is due the man with frugality, hon- 
esty, and industry sufficient to balance his books 
in this way. Yet we have a profound conviction 
that a man who makes such an inventory and calls 
it his life is pitifully deceived. 

The classic Shylock prays, ^^My ducats, my 
ducats, you do take my life when you take my 
ducats," Quietly and honestly and fearlessly, as 
in the sight of God, ask about Item 1 — ^^My prop^ 
perty," am I possessor, or am I possessed? 

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Paul was not sure about his own title : he says, 
'^When I would do good, evil is present with me/' 
How about j^our title? Is it in the name of Mr. 
Good or Mr. Evil, Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? The 
holding of the title decides whether we are to be a 
demigod or a demidevil. 

2. A Spiritual Inventory. Spiritual possessions 
— and let us pray again the text, "Examine me, O 
Lord, and prove me; try my heart." The receiver 
of the wretched Chicago bank pried open the 
strong box of President Stensland and found it 
filled with dummy deeds used in his fraudulent 
transactions. Most of us have such a spiritual 
strong box — promissory notes to God on which we 
have never paid the interest, much less the prin- 
cipal ; professions, resolutions, dummy deeds made 
in church, on the sickbed, at the deathbed of a 
friend, on which we have never delivered the 
goods. A friend carried his manufacturing plant 
on his books at its full original value; a crash 
came and he had nothing left but a heap of worth- 
less, wornout iron. We are balancing our books 
by carrying the old experience at the value it had 
for us ten or fifteen years ago. A business man 
marks off ten per cent each year for renewing 
machinery and repairs. Your religion is worth 
exactly what it meant to you when you got up this 
morning. Its value was inspiring you to say, 
"Thank you, God, for another day of opportu- 
nity"; "My Father, help me to remember that I 
am doing thy work." Its value when you hadi 
that business proposition to meet, and had only 
time to say, "Steady me, steady me, my Father!" 
Its value at night, when your prayer has a grim 

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smile as you confess, ^^Father, I missed it pretty 
badly to-day, I ^m almost ashamed to pray; but, 
Father, to-morrow we will do better.'^ We need, 
a spiritual bank examiner, authorized by the gov- 
ernment of God to impress upon us that our re- 
ligion is worth only what it amounts to in every- 
day stress of life. 

An inventory stands in dollars and cents. The 
dollar sign is the standard of value. Be sure that 
the standards of spiritual value are determined 
by the eternal measurements. The Master gives 
us sound estimate of value when to the fool that 
would shut his soul in his barns he says, "This 
night thy soul shall be required of thee" ; and also, 
"What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole 
world, and lose his soul?" 

"Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my 
heart." How do the books balance? — this way, 
"The harvest is ended, the summer is passed, and 
I am not saved"? or, this way, "I count all things 
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
God in Jesus Christ"? 



45. ON DISCOURAGEMENT 

Scripture: Luke 24. 13-35. 

The two walking to Emmaus are so engrossed 
with their sorrow that they look in and down 
rather than up and out. They were passing Miz- 
peh, where, under the guidance of Samuel, Israel 
overwhelmed the Philistines, and where Samuel, 
therefore, placed the stone of Eben-ezer, saying, 
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped." Jesus comes 

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and talks with them and they do not recognize 
him. Their hearts burn within them as he talks, 
but they are so self-centered in their own sorrow 
they do not even look up to see who it really is 
who is talking to them. 

When we allow ourselves to become over- 
whelmed by outward circumstances we forget 
Mizpeh and the Eben-ezer, and, of course, the fact 
that hitherto the Lord hath helped us. Even when 
the Christ comes and walks at our side we do not 
see him. His words, ^^Wist ye not that these 
things should be?" — for we too must have our 
Calvary — ^never break upon us. We make our sad 
and weary journey to Emmaus, we jog along over 
the hard roads, bruising our feet, we reason with 
ourselves concerning our fate. Without hope or 
faith, because so thoroughly self-centered, we cry 
out, ''We trusted in what we have lost. Now all 
is gone. Our hopes were placed in this friend, in 
that business venture, in the health and strength 
we needed to carry out our projects. Now our 
friend is gone or has deceived us, the investment 
has proved a failure, health and strength have 
failed us.'^ We try to understand our difficulty 
with the mind, and the only conclusion the mind 
reaches is inconclusion so far as any understand- 
able reason for our trouble is concerned. The 
heart, crushed and bleeding though it may be, 
could help us if we would only let it, for it would 
cry out, ''My faith looks to Thee"; it would say, 
"Reason fails me, I cannot understand ; O let me 
believe, let me trust Thee!'^ When we thus come 
to understanding, then the light shines. We see 
through the darkness and gloom of sorrow the 

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dawning day^ with its new tasks^ its new duties, 
its new adjustments to our changed conditions 
which we thought meant hopeless despair, death 
to all our cherished desires and ambitions. Then, 
like the two disciples when their eyes were opened 
and they knew Him, we will rush back to Jeru- 
salem to tell of the great discovery we have made. 
No long or weary road will be before us. We shall 
speed on the wings of hope and trust. The towers 
and battlements of the city will rise heavenward 
before us ; the temple of God will be there, and we 
shall find entrance, like the priests of old, into 
the very Holy of Holies. 

Discouragement is not a part of active, healthy 
life. It is rather the consequence of weakness, 
whether mental or physical. It is the result of 
too much introspection or too close considera- 
tion of immediate circumstances. Hence there 
results a magnifying of present conditions and a 
minimizing of future prospects. It is like looking 
into the large end of a telescope and seeing all 
things small rather than looking into the small 
end and seeing all things large — for we use the 
telescope to get better and clearer, not a worse 
and more indistinct, view. Discouragement keeps 
us from seeing the help that has been (Eben-ezer), 
and also the help that now is (Christ) . It spreads 
like the plague; the easily discouraged carry in- 
fection like a withering disease. Incapacitated 
themselves, they incapacitate others. But when 
they look up from the path immediately before 
them and away from themselves they see the path 
others must tread and also their trials. Mizpeh, 
then, becomes their own battleground of victory, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

and Calvary the place to which they must carry 
their own cross. Discouragement flees with their 
new understanding; they forget themselves in 
their eagerness to get back to Jerusalem to tell, 
and hence to help, others. 



46. THE PRACTICAL HOLY GHOST 

Scripture: John 20. 19-23. 

This was a private meeting between Jesus and 
his disciples at the very close of his earthly min- 
istry. Its importance becomes clearly manifest 
when we note that the events of this evening meet- 
ing lead directly up to the Master's word, ^^Receive 
ye the Holy Ghost." The gift of the Holy Ghost 
as equipment for his disciples is the paramount 
issue of this farewell. In just a word, the prac- 
tical Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God at work in 
our everyday life and has reference to the setting 
up of God's kingdom here on earth. 

It is perfectly natural, then, that God should 
give us the practical Holy Ghost. The analogy 
from nature suggests this. His presence in us is 
as mysterious as the divine forces in nature. 
Wordsworth finds God very near in sky and 
stream. Shall he not come even nearer in the 
spirit of man created in his own image? Our re- 
ceiving this gift of God in the fullest sense is 
dependent upon two things: first, a thorough 
loyalty to do the will of God, and, second, the best 
possible development of our faculties. Without 
the first there is no harmony between our spirit 
and God's Spirit. Without the second, the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Father's best efforts in our behalf may prove well- 
nigh fruitless. We are in greatest danger at this 
point, for there is frequently a certain proneness 
to overlook the second consideration in favor of 
the first. Both are necessary to the gift of the 
practical Holy Ghost. 

And the distinguishing feature of this gift is 
that it is always ethical in its working. Too fre- 
quently the program of ecstasies, raptures, voices, 
privileged immoralities, has summed up our 
thought in the matter. But the gift of the Holy 
Spirit demands a spirit of righteousness in us. 
The fruit of its working is also ethical. There 
was Barnabas, of whom it was said, "He was a 
good man, and full of the Holy Ghost." Every- 
thing else said of this man in the New Testament 
is of a practical and ethical character. We find 
in him, therefore, a good biblical definition of 
what it is to be "full of the Holy Ghost.'' A 
modern case is to be found in the life of the 
seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. The Duke of Argyle 
said of this Christian : "All the great reforms of 
the past fifty years have been brought about, not 
by the Liberal Party, nor by the Tory Party, but 
by the labors of one man — the Earl of Shaftes- 
bury.'' His life, by Jennie M. Bingham, will repay 
a thorough reading. 

What can withstand the power of this Holy 
Ghost? The answer is, "Nothing," for it is the 
might of right. A man blessed with the practical 
Holy Ghost is in league with God and the laws 
of the universe. We stand amazed at the way 
man in our day is subduing the earth. The prog- 
ress of scientific knowledge in modern discovery 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

and invention is a prophecy of the coming mastery 
of world forces by man. There is another, unseen 
world to be subdued; and it too has a .system of 
law. Here God works and we too are expected to 
toil. And power has the same price in this unseen 
world. It comes in response to obedience to God 
and his will — to his spiritual laws. As we live out 
our lives in daily toil and service here upon earth 
in the spirit of loyal obedience, the power, not to 
work strange wonder^ that men may stand amazed 
at our magic, but the power of godliness in service, 
becomes our precious possession. 

There is, moreover, a blessed privilege in con- 
nection with the practical Holy Ghost. The word 
"gift'^ in this connection is unfortunate, for too 
often it has conveyed the class notion. Certain 
ones have thought themselves picked out by God 
for the passive enjoyment of the "blessing." Such 
a thought is most unworthy. And yet the ele- 
ments of joy and peace go with the program of 
daily life and service. But we must keep the 
balance and seek "iQrst the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness." 

**We fight, but 'tis He who nerves our arm; 
He turns the arrows that else might harm. 
And out of the storm he brings a calm. 
And the work that we count so hard to do. 
He makes it easy, for he works, too: 
And the days that seem long to live are his — 
A bit of his bright eternities — 
And close to our need his helping is." 



Suggestions : By special effort secure the attend- 
ance of men. Use a committee of men for this 
purpose. If possible, secure a male quartet. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

47. WHERE DIVINE FOOTSTEPS LEAD 

Scripture: Mark 1. 16-20; Luke 5. 27, 28; Phil. 
2. 5-11; 1 Pet 2. 23. 

^^Follow me/' said the Master, as he summoned 
from their boats the men who were to become his 
apostles. Later he imparted to these words a 
figurative meaning — ^^Take up the cross and follow 
me.'' This call at length became an invitation to 
walk in the holy life. To this day we invite our 
neighbor, saying, ^^Follow Jesus." 

How shall we follow Jesus? We are not as he 
was, his mission is not ours. Deeds which most 
drew disciples after him — mighty miracles, mar- 
velous messages — are beyond our possibility. Is 
not this the answer, ^^Have this mind in you which 
was in Christ"? But if I follow Jesus, whither 
will he lead me? 

To True Manliness. That is encouraging. Noth- 
ing attracts like manliness. This has inspired the 
hero-worship of the ages. Cromwell, Washington, 
Lincoln, Roosevelt, draw men because they are 
men. We crudely thought that to follow Jesus 
meant surrender of the robust and heroic. Not 
so. Behold the miracles he wrought on character 
— Simon the weakling becomes Peter the Rock; 
Saul the bigot, Paul the catholic. Jesus makes 
men. And womanly women! In pagan hovel, 
city slum, lordly palace, the hand of Jesus touch- 
ing womanhood has ever made it sweeter, whiter, 
loftier. 

To Transparent Character. The spirit of our 
age tends to keenness and diplomacy. Fortunes 
are built on shrewdness. The world's slogan is, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

^^Success/' Jesus's way was simple honesty. "No 
guile." What security for society, what peace for 
human hearts, were all lives open to the gaze of 
God as mountain air to sun! 

To a Rational Humility. We are not attracted 
to humbleness. We do not understand it. It 
scents of hypocrisy or atrophy. Jesus's humility 
is brave, manly — a sober estimate of one's own 
powers, a correct self -classification : not thinking 
more highly, nor yet more lowly, than one ought 
to think; not the churchman who covets chief 
places, nor he who belittles his powers, but one 
who reverently says, "If my talents will serve, I 
will try." 

To True Usefulness. Life's test, in nature, in- 
dustry, religion, is service. "What canst thou 
do?" The Mayflower brought fighters, farmers, 
builders. God is pioneering in his world. He 
marches forth to build an empire. Strong men he 
needs, who can achieve. 

To Peace. I speak to men of toil and struggle. 
Could I promise better than "peace which passeth 
understanding"? Jesus gives it. Not lifeless 
peace, the peace of assurance. One day, down the 
street of the city where I lived, came with clatter- 
ing hoofs the fire horses with their load of bronzed 
heroes. Up shot the tall ladder to the cornice of the 
loftiest building, while gathering crowds peered 
and wondered. A little dove, with foot caught in 
the tangled thread of her nest, was struggling for 
liberty, and these stern men had come to rescue 
her. If men like these can halt a city's trafiSc for 
a dove, trust Him who says, "Ye are of more value 
than many sparrows." 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

To God. Does that seem small? 'Have we 
known God too long? But lands and hearts 
there are to whom the hope of God would be tid- 
ings of great joy. Of a lowly toiler in India, who 
in spite of poverty seemed well content, Bishop 
Oldham asked, "If I could oflfer you anything you 
might desire, what would you have?" The man 
paused thoughtfully, then with hungry eyes ex- 
claimed, "O sir, that my soul might find her path 
to the gods !'' This is the cry of the human soul— 
for God. And Jesus will lead you to God. 



48. THE NARROWNESS OF RELIGION 

Scripture: Matt. 7. 13, 14. 

The impression that the truly religious life is 
narrower and less free than the life of the inde- 
pendent self-will is well-nigh universal — in the 
minds of those who are not truly religious. This 
impression is not always the result of a hard heart. 
It may be due to a dull brain. Many nominally 
religious folks think it, though they may hesitate 
to confess it. Most memories that are honest con- 
tain reminiscences of such a view of religion. 

The most diflScult lie to control is the one that 
has some truth in it. This false conception of 
religion has much apparent support in fact. Even 
Jesus seemed to give it his unqualified sanction. 
Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few 
there be that find it. Facts seem to support it. 
Countless opportunities and privileges are open 
to the man who is not troubled with religious con- 
viction that are denied the man who purposes to 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

do the will of God. The whole world of pleasure, 
the entire range of principles and methods, good 
and bad, are the possession of the irreligious. But 
one set of principles, one kind of method, are per- 
missible to the sincerely religious man, and he 
must needs select his enjoyments with care. Re- 
striction, limitation, denial, seem the inevitable 
lot of the honest disciple. Countless souls are 
seeking to be free. Genuine religion does not seem 
to them to point toward freedom. 

Let us see. The wonderful thing that calls the 
autumn shoppers to pause at the florist's window 
is called a chrysanthemum. It was once a little 
scrubby flower unnoticed by the wayside. There 
is just one kind of soil, one exact combination of 
chemical elements, one precise degree of moisture, 
one particular temperature, and a certain method 
of cultivation, that is exactly right for that spe- 
cific flower. The conditions of its perfect life are 
exceedingly limited and narrow. The best thought 
of patient and intelligent men has been given to 
discover that narrow way. There are a million 
ways that are not right. No care or thought is 
necessary to find one of them. That way is very 
broad. Just one that is exactly right. But that 
one way leads to a wonderful flower. 

Your child. There is just one exceedingly nar- 
row set of conditions and methods for that par- 
ticular child that will lead to his completest and 
fullest life. Certain kinds of food, in certain 
quantity ; a certain amount and kind of exercise ; 
a certain kind of discipline, training, incentive; a 
certain kind of influence, study, teaching. Just 
one way that is exactly right for any given child 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

at any given time. But the wrong ways are in- 
finite in number. No care or thought to find them. 
Countless feet walk in them. But it is the one 
narrow, limited way that leads to the broad, rich, 
developed life. 

It is the law of the soul. Just one certain at- 
titude toward God; one kind of motive, purpose, 
desire; one kind of action and service, that are 
the normal and perfect conditions for the soul. 
Countless other possibilities lie in every direction. 
The wrong ways are unlimited. The one right 
way for the soul is exceedingly limited. But it is 
only the one narrow way that leads the soul into 
the broadest, richest, freest unfoldment of its pos- 
sibilities. Any other way leads to the limited and 
narrow life. The choice lies between a limited 
way with an ever-broadening life and a broad way 
with life ever narrowing. 

The narrow way to the broad life? Implicit 
obedience to the will of God. 



49. THE LAW OF THE GOSPEL OP CHRIST 

Scripture: Gal. 5. 13-25; 6. 1-10. 

The message of Paul to the Galatians was the 
gospel versus the law. The epistle may be divided 
into two parts, theological and ethical. After 
telling us how the gospel came to him by divine 
revelation, and after describing the character and 
purpose of the law, and how the covenant with 
Abraham is included in the gospel, he puns the 
word ^^law," and outlines for us some ethical and 
social aspects of the spiritual law of the gospel, 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

First, he mentions the law of liberty. They 
were to regulate conduct no longer by legalism, 
but by a life in the Spirit : not by commandments, 
but by conscience. It was a liberty not only from 
legal servitude, but for spiritual service. It was 
to be used in the interests of others, and not to be 
abused through selfish motives. '^Use not your 
freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through 
love be servants one to another.'' They abused 
their freedom by returning to legal observances 
through the false teaching of certain Judaizers, 
and through an unrestrained rudeness to one an- 
other. True liberty, then, consists not in freedom 
from restraints, but in acknowledging the binding 
force of restraints. That man is freest who so 
well obeys the principles of righteousness that he 
feels no restraint in doing so. He lives above the 
law because it is in his heart to keep the law. He 
lives by inward motive, not by outward mandate; 
by conscience, not by compulsion. The abuse of 
liberty may be characterized by license in religion, 
lewdness in society, civic lawlessness in the na- 
tion. The free man must be a servant in religion, 
a saver in society, a statesman in the nation. 

The second law is the law of love. '^The whole 
law is fulfilled in one word. Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself." In their new liberty some 
of them thought they could do as they pleased. 
Hence they did ^^bite and devour one another.'' 
It is a bold figure which Paul uses in comparing 
their action to the conduct of wild beasts. But is 
it not true that the less love prevails in us the 
more animalized do we become? Love is the 
master, and liberty is to me only in its care. 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Third, he mentions the law of the flesh and the 
law of the Spirit. The flesh is not sinful. Sin 
works through the flesh according to a law of 
habit, which becomes more and more established 
and dethrones the rule of love. On the other hand, 
the working of the Spirit follows a law as truly 
as the law of generation and growth in nature. 
The fruit generated by this spiritual law of life 
is love, joy, peace, etc. Against these, he tells us, 
there is no law, because they are above all law, 
having their sources in the liberty of the Spirit. 

The fourth law mentioned is the law of charity, 
or the law of Christ. ^^Bear ye one another's bur- 
dens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.'' With what 
tenderness does the apostle speak of the weakness 
of others and how gently we should deal with 
their shortcomings ! And how guilty he makes us 
feel for our scorn and reserve toward certain 
forms of sin in others, when he reminds us that 
we too have our own weaknesses and our own 
burdens of guilt to carry ! 

Last of all, he mentions the law of the spiritual 
harvest. This scripture is usually given an in- 
dividual interpretation. In the light of the pre- 
ceding discussion we see that the application in- 
tended is social. Verses 6, 9, and 10 are proof of 
this: "Let him that is taught in the word com- 
municate"; "Let us not be weary in welldoing: 
for in due season we shall reap"; "As we have 
opportunity, let us work that which is good to- 
ward all men." "God," then, "is not mocked: for 
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 
This law is a summary application of the misuse 
of the laws already stated. The law of love, the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

law of the Spirit, the law of Christ, are to help us 
to *Vork that which is good toward all men." 



50. GOD DID THE PUMPING 

Scripture: John 4. 5-15. 

When a small boy it was our vacation task 
through the warm summer to keep the cattle sup- 
plied with water. The well was deep and the 
pump was poor and often needed priming, until 
the patient cattle would look disgusted at the 
fitful stream, which they could drink as fast as 
it ran out. It often seemed a temptation to them 
to drink more than they needed, and they seldom 
if ever seemed satisfied. Those hot-day experiences 
made a great impression on my mind as to the 
desirability of water in great abundance and the 
insufficiency of a pine pump which dried up and 
became leaky. 

To add to my dissatisfaction with wells and 
pumps and hot days for thirsty herds, was the 
contrast as we looked across the fields to Farmer 
Carpenter's flowing well where God did the pump- 
ing and the supply of water was immeasurable. 
So much energy back of that everflowing stream 
that even the cattle took no thought for water and 
did not bother to try to drink it up, for it was im- 
possible. Such a stream flowing right up from 
the hills of God backed by his ceaseless energy^ 
needing no drawing devices and flowing out sum- 
mer and winter, seemed so desirable. That single 
spring changed the whole landscape and made the 
picture of life altogether different. On one land- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

scape there was thirst and drought and anxiety 
and weariness^ and on the other there was no 
thirstj nor anxiety, but always living streams of 
water. 

Who ever could be satisfied with anything less 
than a flowing well and living streams? Our lives 
are like one of these pictures. If we have Jesus 
within we have the living water and there is no 
thirst. Anything less than this living water is 
thirst and dissatisfaction. Religion without the 
personal indwelling of Jesus and life energized 
by him is like the old pump and tub dried up and 
leaky in the sun. What a picture of thirst comes 
to us when we think of living without the springs 
from the eternal Christ ! Dissatisfaction and un- 
rest and disappointment are all about such a life. 
When we see such a life we can only think, ^^If 
thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that 
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest 
have asked of him, and he would have given thee 
living water.'' Think of the divine energy back 
of all our tastes and joys, and all the ways of our 
lives watered by his living streams. 

Bodily exercise in religious experience profiteth 
perhaps a little, as gesture and voice are well in 
their place and logic and reasoning are excellent 
qualities; but what are these as substitutes for 
the living energy of God in us that moves upon 
us day by day, so taking in Jesus and his life that 
we can sit still and feel God thrilling our whole 
being? Such an experience is like the well of 
water ever flowing. Peter before Pentecost in his 
life was like the first landscape with the thirst 
and the intermittent supply of living and energiz- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

ing power. But on the day of Pentecost his well 
broke through into the immense resrvoirs of God 
and such streams rushed forth. He was the same 
Peter, formerly unstable and untrustworthy, but 
now rocklike and powerful. He preached the same 
formal words as before, but the effect on the 
multitude was entirely different. Peter had been 
preaching before Pentecost, but afterward God 
seemed to be preaching through Peter. Living 
streams of energy flowed forth from him. 



51. THE WOMAN AT THE WELL 

Scripture: John 4. 1-42. 

Notice John's habit of showing pictures of 
"Christ and the individual" — Jesus and his 
mother at the wedding; Jesus and Nicodemus; 
Jesus and the lame man at Bethesda; Jesus and 
the man born blind; Jesus and the woman taken 
in adultery; Jesus and the woman at the well. 

The historic situation — "Jacob's well was 
there," linking the past with the present; Ebal 
and Gerizim suggesting the entrance of Israel 
into Canaan, with the antiphonal service of 
praise — Jews and Samaritans, now separated by 
prejudice, had a common inheritance of rich tra- 
dition. 

Notice especially the readiness of Jesus to util- 
ize opportunities apparently accidental to be 
about his Father's business. He was a man, she 
was a woman ; he was a Jew, she was a Samari- 
tan ; he was sinless, she was openly immoral, but 
they were both thirsty. He begins on that one 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

common ground by saying, "Give me a drink," 
and presently he is speaking of the ^^living water/' 

The power of Jesus to restrain thoughtless 
banter such as she displayed at first, and to set 
aside narrow bigotry such as she brought into 
the field in suggesting the time-worn argument 
about Jerusalem and Gerizim, is seen by his ask- 
ing the woman to "call her husband" ; thus bring- 
ing to her mind and conscience the whole immoral 
past and the present irregular relation in her life, 

Jesus was ever ready to use the great truths for 
common situations. Not to a mighty congrega- 
tion, but to one ignorant, prejudiced, immoral 
woman, he says, "God is a Spirit. Men must 
worship him in spirit and in truth, for the Father 
seeketh such." His profound respect for the spir- 
itual capacity of every soul was such that no 
splendid truth was too fine for everyday use. To 
those of less spiritual insight the woman at the 
well would not have presented a promising op- 
portunity for declaring the gospel truth. To the 
disciples Jesus seemed prodigal in his distribution 
of his message. 

Jesus's conversation with the woman reveals 
the effectiveness of making spiritual instruction 
crisp, fresh, real. If the Master had spoken as the 
scribes, this light-hearted, joking woman would 
never have forgotten her waterpot and have gone 
away to call people to come and see the man, be- 
cause of her intense interest in the truth he 
offered. 

See also the absorbing nature of genuinely spir- 
itual effort. The woman forgot her thirst and the 
Master forgot his hunger, saying to his surprised 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

disciples when they prayed him to eat, ^^I have 
meat to eat that ye know not of." Interests of 
less importance sink back into their relatively in- 
ferior places when the heart has a passion for 
spiritual conquest. 

There is an inevitableness of some valid result 
when such work is done in the spirit of trust. Sow 
a bushel of good seed in good soil or even in vary- 
ing soil ; not every grain will grow, but some of it 
must and will find lodgment and bring results. 
When the truth of God is used aright it cannot re- 
turn entirely void, Jesus in his own matchless 
way used the truth to make a spiritual impression 
on the heart of this ignorant, immoral woman, and 
wonderful results flowed from the brief conversa- 
tion. He lifted up his eyes and saw a whole com- 
pany of Samaritans being conducted to him by 
this newly awakened soul, and he said to his dis- 
ciples, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, 
and then cometh harvest? Lift up your eyes, and 
look on the fields; for they are white already to 
harvest.'^ 

52. "I WILL SET IN THE DESERT THE 
FIR TREE'' 

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER MEETING 

Scripture: Luke 2. 1-20; Isa. 41. 19. 

Of the many symbols by the use of which we 
indicate the sacredness and joy of Christmas, per- 
haps none is richer in suggestiveness than is the 
Christmas tree. "This shall henceforth be your 
sacred tree, not a symbol of bloody rite and 
heathen despair, but the symbol of the love of 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

God, of a new life in Christ, of redemption, of life 
that shall be for evermore; see how it points to the 
sky! Let us call it the tree of the Christ-child." 
Thus spoke Boniface to our Teutonic ancestors. 
His suggestion has become a world-wide and 
blessed custom. Into our homes come the Christ- 
mas trees with their messages. What lessons 
should these fir trees bring? 

First of all, a message of the love of God. Our 
Anglo-Saxon ancestors believed in God, in Odin 
whom they called the All-Father, The belief in 
God is almost universal; it is a spontaneous 
afiSrmation of the human mind, and not a studied 
deduction, but the difference in beliefs appears 
when we endeavor to understand the conceptions 
that are behind the word God. The name is one, 
but the conceptions are many and radically dif- 
ferent, largely illustrative of the different stages 
of human development. It is one thing to believe 
in a God of force, before the manifestation of 
whose material power you fear and tremble, a 
God who exacts with remorseless severity the last 
farthing of compounded debt, who is pleased with 
useless pain and sacrifice, and propitiated by Im- 
moral rites; this is one thing. To believe in a 
God of holy love is quite another, and this is the 
message of the Christmas tree, with its evergreen 
branches. 

In the second place, the Christmas tree signifies 
a new religious life. Those savage Teutons changed 
their lives after the preaching of Saint Boniface. 
They were baptized into Christ, and somehow 
their heathen hearts, who put their trust ^4n 
valiant strength and iron shard," began to put 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

their trust in gentleness, in the gentleness of 
Jesus. They became transformed from character 
to character by the Spirit of the Son of God, and 
they became the progenitors of those loyal hearts 
who gave Protestantism to the world. There are 
reasons why the Anglo-Saxons rule the world, and 
the reason is not the '^reeking tube and the iron 
shard,'^ nor the wealth they control — these are 
the incidents of a greater force, the new life, the 
spiritual power of the Son of God. It is his gen- 
tleness that has made us great and has given us 
the inheritance of the earth, because it has given 
time and opportunity for the achievements of the 
Spirit. As you go to your homes, to the joyous 
gatherings of the gifts and the Christmas tree, 
ask yourselves the question, "Am I living this new 
life? What are the things in which I trust? 
What are the deepest things in my life?" And if, 
after such a soliloquy, you find yourself trusting 
in your strength, your achievements, your intel- 
lectual powers, let the Christmas tree be to you a 
messenger of God to remind you that blessed are 
they who, with Jesus, put their trust in him. 

And, finally, the Christmas tree suggests the 
religion of the home. Not mystic rites in the 
arched forest where the white-robed priests mutter 
the incantations of ignorance, and where the main 
feeling is one of solemn dread or silent self- 
hypnosis, but, rather, a religion so pure, so sim- 
ple, so sacred, that its first altar must forever be 
the altar of a mother's knee, the first sacrifice 
the unselfish sharing of the childhood toys, the 
first sacrament the family table. Saint Boniface 
said, "Let us carry this tree to our chieftain's 



PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

hall and gather for worship, not in the dark groves 
of the forest, but in the home of our loved ones, 
in memory of Him who sanctified the home by 
choosing to come as a little babe born helpless, 
dependent, destitute, in the cave at Bethlehem." 



Suggestion : Have a small Christmas tree in the 
prayer-meeting room. Let some one tell the story 
of the origin of the use of the Christmas tree. 



53. JESUS LEADS IN PRAYER 

Scripture : Luke 9. 28-36. 

It was a small prayer meeting. No synagogue 
was open to them and no prayer room existed as 
yet for retreat and prayer. So Jesus taketh them 
to the brow of Hermon and they pray together in 
the heights. Jesus leads in prayer. Occasionally 
in some little prayer circle where the rich and the 
great seldom care to attend a truly great person 
comes for worship. O, to have been present when 
Spurgeon led in prayer, or to have joined with 
Wesley as he said, ^^Let us pray"! A few of us 
in a quiet little town were kneeling in the prayer 
circle when all unnoticed and unknown the saintly 
Bishop Ninde had entered and began to pray. We 
shall never forget the voice, the face, nor the 
glory of that hour. 

Peter remembered to his dying day the glory of 
the hour when Jesus led in prayer. We do not 
wonder that the door of heaven seemed to open 
and ancient worthies to stand about and eternal 
words to be spoken. It was a never-to-be-forgotten 

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hour. Long years after he referred to it in the 
first chapter of his second epistle in the most 
tender words. Said he, ^^We did not follow cun- 
ningly devised fables, but were eyewitnesses of 
his majesty. There came a voice to him from the 
excellent glory, ^This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased'; and this voice we ourselves 
heard come out of heaven, when we were with him 
in the holy mount.'' In fact, was it not the mem- 
ory of that prayer meeting on Mount Hermon 
with Jesus and his glory of which he was an eye- 
witness that made Peter over from unstable water 
to a rocklike man ? To the end of his life uo mat- 
ter what challenge his faith should have as being 
a cunning fable his answer was to his own mind 
always suflScient: ^^We were eyewitnesses, we 
heard the voice.'' 

We make no mistake when we gather together 
during the week all the spiritually minded people 
who can see the invisible and hear the super- 
natural. There is no partiality in taking the few 
who have a lively sense of the presence of God 
and leaving out the multitude. The multitude 
would not come, and if they did their small talk 
and lack of vision would be harmful to the oc- 
casion. Our prayer meetings may continue small, 
but if they have present the folks that can see and 
appreciate the hour of transfiguration let us make 
no apology. With the few spiritual people let us 
rather spend an hour in the heights with the eter- 
nal voices sounding in our ears and with the 
heavenly vision appearing before our eyes. 

How lovingly Peter referred to this experience 
when years and years after he was beset by the 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

seductive temptations of that age. What will 
stand us more in hand in this materialistic age 
with all its temptations than some hour of prayer 
when earth recedes and heaven's door opens and 
we appear to dwell among the inhabitants of the 
eternal world ? Through the eye of faith we may 
also be at times eyewitnesses of his majesty. This 
hour of vision will hold us fast. Who of us can 
say, ''1 have been with Jesus"? Who of us know 
of such an hour in our lives when we seem to have 
heard the unearthly voice and were able to see the 
invisible glory of the Lord? These experiences 
we may not relate before the curious and the by- 
standers, but in the select number of God's chil- 
dren they are an inspiration. 



54. THE CHURCH OF SARDIS AT HER BEST 

Scripture : Rev. 3. 1-6. 

This was rather plain talk about a church that 
was more nearly dead than alive. John was a 
Boanerges as well as a Doctor Seraphicus. He 
felt that he was viewing this church from the 
standpoint of God. He uses the tone of absolute 
authority — ^^These things saith he that hath the 
seven Spirits of God." In giving us this picture 
of a decadent church John is really describing 
merely nominal Christianity. Showy worship, 
love of pleasure, outward forms had taken the 
place of true piety, inner godliness, and genuine 
worth. 

. The church at its best is suggested in the char- 
acterization of the remnant who have not defiled 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

their garments. The description is like a '^eut 
diamond, flashing fire/' They are worthy to walk 
clad in white as did the Roman citizens on the 
day of the triumphal return of an emperor. They 
were unspotted from the world. They were vic- 
tors over ^^the world, the flesh, and the devil.'^ 
Nothing is more elemental in the Christian life 
than the persistency of the spiritual conflict. A 
church at its best will be marked by harmony and 
the spirit of cooperation, by evangelistic zeal, 
missionary interest, love of God's Word, educa- 
tional earnestness, advocacy of social reform and 
civic righteousness. It will have that "social im- 
agination" which makes possible the putting of 
oneself in another's place. Its members will be 
filled with the Spirit. Its pulpit will exalt the 
cross. 

King Croesus, whose home was in Sardis, was 
once warned by Solon, the Greek lawgiver, "to 
beware of self-satisfaction and to regard no man 
as really happy until the end of life had set him 
free from the danger of sudden reverse.'' Sardis 
was known as "the city of memorable reverses," 
not the least of which was that which came to the 
once prosperous church whose works had become 
imperfect before God. 

If we had had the opportunity of visiting the 
church of Sardis at her best we would have dis- 
covered there such members as Mr. True-man, 
frank of face, having a pure heart, the ideal of the 
young men of the church. Mr. Open-minded Loy- 
alist is also there, broad-minded, candid, conse- 
crated. He had had his doubts but had come forth 
strong in the faith. Mr. and Mrs. Spiritually- 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

minded were also members. They were well poised 
and cheerful, not lost in the sordid spirit of ma- 
terialism. Mrs. Mighty-in-the-Faith was a mem- 
ber of this illustrious company. She was a 
widow, poor, but highly esteemed. 

Then, too, there was a band of young people 
known as ^^Soul-winners.'' By their pure lives 
and devotion to the cause of Christ they had made 
a profound impression upon the social life of the 
city. They had been unwilling to enjoy selfishly 
their faith, and so had added to the roll of active 
members many young people whose homes were 
heathen. 

And so this famous church had seen the time 
when John's severe warnings had not been needed. 
Gradually they had discovered how easy it is 
to keep up appearances without being watchful 
against the secret sins. 

Finally the only restraint which they felt was 
the fear of being found out. The shame of de- 
tection by other and faithful churches had led 
them to cover up their hypocrisy, and now there 
was danger that their names might be blotted out 
of the Book of Life. 

There was but one thing to do — strengthen 
whatever sincerity remained. But this could be 
done in only one way — "Remember therefore how 
thou hast received and heard" the gospel. Hold 
fast to it. Repent and turn away from devo- 
tion to the world. Overcome the temptation to 
sin. Listen to the message of the Spirit unto 
the churches. What kind of a church would 
our church be if every member were just like 
me? 

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PRESENT-DAY PRAYER-MEETING HELPS 

Suggestions: Request all ofltieials of the church 
to be present this night. Make the spirit of the 
meeting electric, vital, strong. Messrs. Drone and 
Longwind should not be tolerated. Don't let any- 
one scold or show discouragement at the condition 
of the prayer meeting. If any have burdens, cast 
them off. God is the great burden and sorrow- 
bearer. Be sure you speak to any strangers who 
may be present. 



129 



iUL 23 1910 



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